Ahead of President Bush's expected announcement to send more troops to Iraq, we take a look at Iraq's growing refugee crisis. The UN estimates one in eight Iraqis have fled their homes and that 1.7 million Iraqis are now displaced. Until recently, the Bush administration planned to settle only 500 Iraqi refugees in the United States this year. [includes rush transcript]

President Bush is set to give a major address today outlining a new US strategy in Iraq. The strategy is expected to include an increase of up to 20,000 troops. Since the new congress took the Hill on Friday, the possibility of a troop surge has drawn increasing criticism from leading Democrats. Senator Ted Kennedy introduced legislation yesterday, which would require the president to gain congressional authority before escalating the war in Iraq.

Last week Kennedy became chair of the Senate subcommittee on refugees, border security, and immigration, and has also been a vocal critic of the Bush administration's policies towards Iraqi refugees. In an op-ed published in a recent issue of the Washington Post, Kennedy condemned the administration's handling of the refugee situation. He cited the fact that while the 2007 budget proposal allots 8 billion dollars to spending on the war, it currently has set aside only a tiny fraction of that amount -- 21 million dollars -- to aid the growing number of Iraqi refugees.

Until recently, the Bush administration planned to settle only 500 Iraqi refugees in the United States this year, even as the international situation has grown increasingly dire. The UN estimates that one in eight Iraqis have fled their homes and that 1.7 million Iraqis are now displaced. Tens of thousands of people continue to flee Iraq monthly. Up to 1 million Iraqi refugees are in Syria. Up to 700,000 are in Jordan. Yesterday the UN issued a plea for 60 million dollars in emergency funds to deal with the crisis.

In November a team from the group Refugees International traveled to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. They issued a report titled "Iraq: The World's Fastest Growing Refugee Crisis."

• Sean Garcia. Advocate with Refugees International.