US to take in more Iraqi refugees after criticism

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) The United States aims to accept about 7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of the year, US officials said today as the State Department sought to blunt criticism that it took in only 202 last year.

The move, disclosed as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to meet UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, follows sharp questions from US lawmakers about why the United States has welcomed so few Iraqi refugees.

The UNHCR estimates that up to 2 million Iraqis have moved to neighboring countries, mainly Syria and Jordan, before and since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, while 1.7 million Iraqis are internally displaced.

Since 2003 the United States has taken in fewer than 500 Iraqi refugees, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans to question whether it was doing enough.

The State Department last week said it had created a government task force to ensure the United States was doing ''its share.'' Department spokesman Sean told reporters the United States aimed to take in about 7,000 Iraqi refugees ''this fiscal year,'' which ends on September 30, 2007.

''That's not a ceiling. That's kind of a target, everybody's best guess for where we'll be,'' he added.

US officials later said the processing of the refugees, which include security and medical checks, should be completed by the end of December.

Guterres was to meet Rice and other senior US officials in Washington to seek more support for the Iraqis who have fled to Syria and Jordan, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

The UN official visited the two countries last week and warned of a humanitarian disaster in the region. His spokesman said Guterres would seek more aid not just for UNHCR's programs but also for Syria, Jordan and the Iraqis themselves.

UNHCR has said that it intends to resettle up to 20,000 Iraqis this year to various countries outside the region.

Refugees given priority for ''third country resettlement'' are usually unable to stay in the region, need major medical care, or are torture victims or female heads of households.

REUTERS KR KN2350