A Contrarian View: Blame the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Europe on Europe
Col Mike Walker, USMC (retired)
All,
For me, the current Syrian refugee problem roiling Europe is a replay of the events following the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
In the 1990s, the Europeans could not understand the underlying causes of the Balkan conflicts (anything outside an economic-driven analysis was beyond their ken) and therefore they had no possibility of coming to grips with a viable solution.
In the end, they adopted a low-risk "Gee I hope things get better" approach.
Things did not get better.
After repeated failures by Europe and Europe in tandem with the UN, the endless slaughter and human tragedies finally drew in the United States under the aegis of NATO and the war ended. I know of what I write as I found myself as the third consecutive generation of my family to don a uniform, pick up a rifle and head over to Europe to fix one of their messes.
Fast forward twenty or so years and we have Syria. Once again, Europe proved itself to be hopelessly befuddled as to how to proceed. In the end they adopted a low-risk "Gee I hope things get better" approach.
Things did not get better and now it is time for Europe to take responsibility for their collective failure.
Semper Fi,
Mike
