The ridiculously misplaced outrage, seems to be directed toward nations who refuse to take immigrants, rather than the individuals and governments that have worked diligently to create more of those refugees. All the while, led by impotent organizations such as the United Nations, the free world strives to be seen as non-meddling, and non-judgmental and whistles by the graveyard while innocents are slaughtered on a scale that would inspire envy in the likes of Hitler and Pol Pot.
Aggravating the problem is the ease with which insurgents and terrorists are, on a daily basis infiltrating European nations. Mixed in with the refugee population they present a serious problem, no one is capable of addressing under the circumstances. Security officials are far too overwhelmed with the problem of simply finding a place for the oppressed.
As terrible as it is however, this era can present opportunities for positive change in the way nations deal with each other and the way the rest of the world deals with rogue nations that spark such devastation. Now is the time for democratic nations to stand together and demand accountability of rogue regimes and tyrannical leaders. Such a move however, will take leaders of strong will and men and women committed to doing what’s right rather than what is politically expedient.
Immigration, whether legal or illegal always changes a country. The changes may be positive or negative. They may be instant or generational but they always happen. For this reason, and in light of the fact that many people are afraid of change, immigration whether legal or illegal causes some level of trepidation. When immigration is forced or intensified and when it is perceived as being more illegal than legal, it causes much more than the usual amount of concern for people.
Furthermore when immigration appears to be used as a tool to accomplish an end, it causes the greatest amount of consternation and concern. Today in America for instance, many see political objectives behind the encouragement of immigration from our neighbors to the south. Immigration encouraged for purely humanitarian reasons too many, seems to be the exception rather than the norm.
While immigrants stream into America and into countries in Europe, hoping for a better life and hoping to escape unspeakable torture and death at the hands of those within their own government, America is soon to face another crisis dealing with immigration. The single noblest goal on the part of any country in encouraging immigration has always been situations in which allies in military conflicts have been welcomed to enjoy safety and security and to escape retribution following an end to hostilities.
America will soon completely withdraw from Afghanistan. When the last American soldier leaves that country, virtually all analysts agree, the Taliban will reassert itself and reclaim lost territory and lost political power. As they sweep back into Afghanistan, all who are familiar with the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) of the Taliban, know they will exact revenge on those who assisted America and its allies in any manner.
Many American soldiers can recount stories of young boys and girls caught with American currency in their pockets being brutally tortured and executed; this at a time when the Taliban is still an adversary incapable of operating openly. Those who fought alongside us or helped us in any way are hated by the Taliban and will most assuredly be targeted for retribution. In light of the fact that individuals flow freely across our southern border today for simple economic reasons, our doors must be thrown open to offer safe haven for those Afghans who stood by us. Doing anything less will be an act of cowardice and an act of betrayal more pronounced than that, of which America was guilty, following the fall of Saigon.
In light of the fact that many Islamic immigrants in America today, enjoying the freedom of religious practice, openly encourage violence against non-Muslims and demand the right to shun American law in order to practice Sharia, those who stood by our troops in Afghanistan will present a welcomed balance. The vast majority of those who have stood by us in Afghanistan have no desire to force change in America. Their resistance to those within their own faith who preach intolerance and extremism, would be an invaluable aid to America’s efforts to thwart recruitment for terrorism in America.
In addition to being prepared to welcome our allies and brothers in arms from that region of the world, America must be willing to change its hands-off, non-interventionists policies. In this time of worldwide crisis brought on by those who freely and willingly practice genocide, no one can hope to enjoy the luxury of non-involvement. Additionally, demanding that other nations take some responsibility, while it may be reasonable, will change nothing if it falls on deaf ears.
Opponents of using the military as a tool for nation building have for years been successful in convincing the American people that the practice is imperialistic and should under no circumstances be condoned. As a result the idea of interfering with a sovereign country in an attempt to alter the way that nation was governed has long been avoided. Additionally, anyone suggesting that the practice ever had merits has been roundly criticized.
United States Special Forces missions have often been undertaken in order to insure that a particular party or a particular leader was successful in ruling his people, precisely because the success of this particular party or this particular leader was best for the country in question and the world at large. These missions have entailed nothing more than training indigenous forces and equipping them for success, but the end result has most often been successful for that country and the world at large.
As stated, some decades ago, the outcry from those in opposition to such activities came loud and in a timely manner, resulting in the fact that those in Washington, who have control over foreign policy and military operations began to view this type of operation through the eyes of those who condemned it and thus declared the practice of ‘nation building’, abhorrent and ruthless. Further, anyone who supported such a process was labeled a hawk and ridiculed by his peers.
The end result, we see today, is a world in which immoral barbaric leaders slaughter their countrymen who disagree with them; a world in which those who have been targeted flee for their lives, filling squalid refugee camps and dying there, in unspeakable filth and degradation, unable to return to their own homes.
America and, as we see today, countries in Europe will end up paying the costs and suffering the accompanying loss of internal security. Non-interventionism and the practice of allowing sovereign nations to govern as they see fit regardless of how brutal they may be, has brought us to this point. In the end we will pay the price and things will only get worse. In the end, the despots of the world will have rid themselves of whole cultures that are inconvenient and America and the other humane countries of the world will take on the burden of caring for them.
America and its allies have the right to force other nations to treat their citizens humanely. America and its allies have the right to demand that people be safe and secure in their own homes. America has the right to invade and to militarily eliminate the Hitler’s and Pol Pots of the world. We have the right, morally and in any other way, just as much as an individual has the right to step in and eliminate a child molester on the street who is in the act of murdering his victim before our eyes.
We will not avoid involvement in these matters. Though it sounds harsh, we have the moral right and we must step up and demand forcefully that tyrants not slaughter their citizens. Not doing so will only postpone our pain and the pain of innocent children and simply add to the body count.
American Diplomacy is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to American Diplomacy.
Dr. Godfrey Garner holds a PhD in counseling psychology from Mississippi State University and is currently pursuing a second PhD at the University of Southern Mississippi. Following two tours in Viet Nam and a lengthy break in military service, Dr. Garner rejoined and eventually retired from 20th Special Forces group in 2006. He completed two military and six civilian government-related tours in Afghanistan. His work in Afghanistan most recently has been as a counter-corruption analyst. He is published in Homeland Security Today and Foreign Policy Journal on issues relating to Afghanistan as well as other journals relating to higher education. He is the author of the novel Danny Kane and the Hunt for Mullah Omar.