Wall Street Journal (Opinion)
By Richard Fontaine
November 16, 2015
Reactions
to the Middle East refugee crisis have been transformed by news that at
least one of the Paris attackers traveled to Europe among a group of
Syrian asylum-seekers.
Several U.S. governors have publicly rejected the notion of Syrians
resettling in their states. Opposition to accepting refugees appears
likely to grow here and in Europe, where public debate was already
fraught. But closing borders to Syria’s refugees could
ultimately produce more terrorism, not less.
Syrians
represent the world’s largest refugee population. In addition to the
more than 4 million who have fled Syria, approximately 6.5 million
civilians are internally
displaced, according to United Nations estimates. The United States has
admitted only about 1,600 refugees since Syria’s civil war began in
2011. Barely two months ago did the Obama administration announce that
10,000 refugees would be allowed in next year.
In
the fifth year of this conflict, with millions languishing in camps and
other temporary quarters, it is not so much that a generation of
Syrians is being lost as destroyed.
Parents are out of work. Families are a strain on the communities where
some have managed to find shelter. Children are chronically out of
school, missing education and socialization. These are the conditions in
which violent extremism takes root. By accepting
asylum-seekers, the United States and other countries would help to
minimize that vulnerable population as well as acting in accordance with
their deepest humanitarian traditions.
Concern
with protecting the homeland from terrorist attack is natural and
appropriate. No one is seriously arguing that refugees should be
admitted without thorough vetting
backed by real resources and international cooperation to keep out
violent extremists. But while the door to refugees should remain open,
the crisis should also prompt meaningful planning for safe zones in
Syria, along the Turkish border in the northeast and
along the border with Jordan in the southeast. No country will take on
this duty alone, and a combination of coalition air power and regional
ground forces would be required to establish and patrol such areas.
Creating safe zones could help reduce Syria’s
refugee outflow and help mitigate the untold suffering of civilians.
It
could also aid the diplomatic efforts to end Syria’s civil war, which
is the only way to ultimately stem the refugee crisis. By moving
population segments out of the
reach of Bashar al-Assad’s depredations, providing an area where
moderate opposition can quietly regroup and strengthen, such an effort
could strengthen the groups the U.S. would like to see prevail–and
perhaps help persuade the regime and its foreign backers
that they will not win through brutality alone.
Civilized
nations should see the violence in Paris not as a moment to question
our long-held ideals but as a chance to reaffirm them and embrace the
most vulnerable among
us. It is not just the ethically correct thing to do. This embrace of
humanity’s deepest values is itself a rejection of the tortured ISIS
worldview.
Richard
Fontaine is president of the Center for a New American Security in
Washington. He was associate director for near eastern affairs at the
National Security Council
from 2003 to 2004 and was a foreign policy adviser to John McCain‘s
2008 presidential campaign. He is on Twitter: @RHFontaine.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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