Friends and Refugees in Need

by Thomas L. Friedman

Dec. 27, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/opinion/friends-and-refugees-in-need.html?comments&_r=0#permid=17359467:17359555

I take issue with many of the statements in Mr. Friedman's column - as pointed out by @craig geary, the US is indeed largely responsible for the current catastrophic mess in the Middle East, starting with the CIA operation in Iran in the 50's, all the way to the criminal invasion of Iraq under W, which Mr, Friedman wholeheartedly supported.

Now we have another half-baked "solution" from Mr. Friedman - a "safe zone" in Syria. How would a safe zone INSIDE Syria be any better than the huge refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey? The people would still be refugees, displaced and living in extreme depravation and poverty. But these existing "safe zones" have the distinct advantage of not requiring a huge military effort on the ground in order to establish and protect the safe zone.

It is certainly true that the refugee crisis from Syria has brought to a head the general flow of displaced people from the Middle East and Africa into Europe, and that today the grad vision of a open Europe is in danger of collapsing from the refugee strain. As someone originally from Germany, who has lived and worked in Europe for many years, I have experience first hand the immense benefits which the EU has brought, not only to Europe but to the world - an example of what can be achieved with a vision and the political will to implement that vision.

I do not see how this simplistic solution of a safe zone in Syria, which by the way will effectively require another US ground war in the Middle East and an occupation lasting decades, will have any impact on the refugee crisis in Europe. On the contrary, the military effort required will only serve to worsen the destruction in Syria and the outflow of more refugees.