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[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]I am not writing that off. It seems a bit early to just write off Syria to the garbage dump of history as a land of no return. My grandparents (and the world) waited around a lot longer and finally came as refugees when the camps closed and the country was firmly established as a place of no return. I have nothing against refugees and I am aware there are worthy political refugees from across the entire world and we have a process for this.  However, a whole population fleeing a conflict zone is hopefully a temporary situation.  It was a very well established country and it is sad to see people like you giving up on it, instead of driving a political/military process that will get these people back to their homes/farms/livlihoods which I guarantee they would prefer.[/quote]

I feel like you may not be well-informed about the situation in Syria. The war has already been going longer than five years. It shows no sign of stopping. It is a war with essentially three, if not four, major sides. Internal factions have support from the US, the Gulf Arabs, and Russia. Funding and weapons are not a problem. Both Russia and NATO are directly involved in the fighting. I would love to see peace prevail and I agree whole-heartedly that refugees would like nothing better than to return to peace and prosperity in their own country. But, as your own family's experience demonstrate, things don't always work out that way. There is little indication that it will happen in Syria.

I fully support a reconciliation process leading to a situation that allows for the refugees to return. I am not sure what I can do to "drive" that as you suggest. At the moment, I can't even vote for my own Senator or Representative, let alone set our Middle East policy. But, while we wait for peace to return to Syria, we can't really abandon our role in the world by closing our doors to refugees. We didn't do that for your grandparents and we shouldn't do that now.
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There are efforts underway by people like Ambassador Ryan Crocker to try a diplomatic settlement in Syria.  While there at least four parties with disparate interests involved, a diplomatic solution will eventually work.   Meanwhile, the Syrian diaspora will have occurred, and Syria will be re-created by the few who return and those who were too powerful or too power-less to leave.  [/quote]

Exactly.  My mom participated in heavy advocacy and demonstrations in Washington, joined community groups, met with representatives and even the president. There is plenty you can do. And eventually her homeland found its footing. Of course, having grown up in America and with American kids--she was never going back except to visit. The worst thing you can do, if you actually care about Syria, is encourage this massive diaspora.  Then it truly will be left to the gang from the Star Wars bar to carve up, and the few innocent people left in the crossfire are going to have a heck of a time.[/quote]

The refugees fled Syria without any encouragement from me or anyone else. Civilians flee wars. That has always been true. It is why posters in this thread had family members in camps. Your parents and grandparents didn't flee because an American told them to, but because they were escaping war. Now that the Syrians have fled, there is an issue about what to do with them. Some of you would warehouse them in camps ad infinitum. I wish Ryan Crocker the best of luck, but I have studied the Middle East long enough to know not to hold my breath in situations like this. There are still camps full of Palestinians waiting to return home. We are planning to take 10,000 Syrian refugees. That is not enough to change our country and not enough to save Syria.

Let me ask you this, if five years of war is not enough to convince you that camps are not a solution, when do we reach that point? Do we have to wait another five years? Another 10? At which point to Syrians qualify for the the treatment your parents and grandparents received?

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