CLINTON CONFIRMATION: Refugees, Iraqi and Otherwise

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) asks about the Iraqi refugee crisis. Now that there won’t be a Bush administration to treat dealing with Iraqi refugees as an admission of failure, what should the policy be?

Clinton says she’ll staff the State Department’s resident refugee office with “creative individuals.” Pledges to help the Iraqi government “as it deals with the repatriation … of refugees.” She says she’ll elevate the issue of refugees more broadly, not just with Iraq, and calls it “a high priority.” Wants more funding for handling refugees, and challenges Congress to “come up with an effective strategy.”