CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 7, 2015 — Western Europe and Great Britain are suddenly deluged with Arab refugees attempting to escape the chaos in the Middle East. If immigration is a serious problem for the United States, it is much worse in Europe.
The irony lies in the fact that most asylum-seekers are trying to escape the very core of their own beliefs. While they refuse to admit their religion is a significant part of the problem, they wish to embrace the “good life” and relative peace of the West.
Adding to the irony is that Middle Eastern countries do not want to accept their fellow Muslims out of fear of terrorism.
It is truly a topsy-turvy world in which we live.
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Exacerbating the problem is the nuclear arms deal the West, and in particular the United States, arranged with Iran. Most of the Gulf States, except for Saudi Arabia, sent congratulatory messages to Iranian officials with hopes that the agreement will bring stability to the region.
Stability in the Middle East is a relative term. The Gulf states are never stable, only more or less stable at some times than at others. Bringing “stability to the region” is like bringing honest government to Africa. It cannot be done under present conditions.
If Gulf States leaders do not recognize the predicament, many of their people apparently do, and they want no part of it when they know there is something far better off to the west.In contrast to other Arab nations, Saudi Arabia acknowledged the importance of the deal, but told Iran it would respond harshly if Tehran attempted to “cheat” and therefore undermine the tenuous security of the Middle East.
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One writer, Ghassan Al-Imam, a London-based journalist for the Saudi Arabian daily newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, sharply criticized the Gulf States for their praise and the U.S. for “backing down” on its global responsibilities.
In essence, Al-Imam blames much of the current problem on the mind-numbingly inept foreign policies of the Obama administration. He wrote:
One of the nuclear agreement’s ‘impressive achievements’ is the announcement of the renewal of the Iranian initiative to solve the Syria crisis. The initiative, which has been
bolstered by the American recognition of a nuclear Iran, seeks to impose Iran as a foreign and uninvited partner in Arab national security, to consolidate the rule of Bashar (Al-Assad)’s collapsing regime, and to continue to exterminate Arab Sunni Syrians if they do not agree to remain subjects who have obligations (but) who have been deprived of all rights.
Iran has completely lost control of the situation on the ground in Syria. What is happening now is that Arab Syria is being divided into Turkish, Kurdish, and ‘Alawite Shi’ite pockets.
Thus, an already complex situation has become even more complex many times over thanks to mindless rhetoric overriding legitimate solutions.
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And, in the process, suddenly the “Pied Piper” negotiations are leading Muslims out of harm’s way and into the West.
The current migration crisis creates further debate within and among Western countries about whether they should accept the refugees on humanitarian grounds, or whether they should deny them access because of potential terror threats in the future.
A massive influx of refugees will do nothing to enhance Western Europe’s standard of living and quality of life, and an influx of Muslims will not strengthen Europe’s secular institutions. If anything, it will drain the “life blood” from European societies. One need only compare Israel with Palestine to witness the effects.
As Ghassan Al-Imam explains, “Saudi Arabia recognizes and is aware of these facts on the ground. All those who hastened to welcome the nuclear agreement should commit to minimal Arab diplomatic solidarity, trust themselves more, and rely on themselves.
“This (must be the answer to) the defeatism of the Obama administration, that backed down from the demands by (both) the Arabs and the Europeans to put an end to the Iranian nuclear program, and to strip Iran of the ability, in the immediate or distant future, to produce a new tragedy like Hiroshima.”
As Strother Martin so eloquently said in the 1967 Paul Newman movie classic “Cool Hand Luke,” “What we have here is failure to communicate.”
The West did indeed negotiate with Iran, but it did not communicate. We faced off with masters of deception and lost. Now Europe and the United Kingdom are paying the price by being potentially overrun by the unintended consequences of appeasing leadership.
For more information visit Irin News; we appreciate their sharing their images of this situation.
Bob Taylor has been traveling the world for more than 30 years as a writer and award-winning television producer focusing on international events, people and cultures around the globe.
Taylor is founder of The Magellan Travel Club (www.MagellanTravelClub.com)
Read more of What in the World and Bob Taylor at Communities Digital News
Follow Bob on Twitter @MrPeabod
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