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Wipe out terror to end refugee crisis

There are no good and bad terrorists in the war against terrorism

The European Union has expressed its inability to handle the refugee influx. EU President Donald Tusk said on Sunday that Europe is close to limits on its ability to accept a new wave of refugees, particularly from Syria. Though German Chancellor Merkel has been pushing for accepting more refugees by European countries, she has been isolated even in her own country. On Monday, her party lost regional elections, falling victim to an anti-immigration party. The migrant issue has become a political hot potato for European leaders after a series of terror attacks in France and Germany, triggering a backlash against the migrants. But to conclude that refugees are responsible for every attack is naive and lacks basis. Most attacks were not carried out by any recent refugee to these countries but by migrants who were already citizens.
There is no doubt that the civil war in Syria is sparking off the exodus. The fact that Syria is in war within itself indicates the magnitude of the crisis. While there have been talks, particularly the controversial EU-Turkey deal to stem the flow of refugees, there is no serious international effort to get to the root of the problem. In Syria, the civilian population has been at the receiving end for the last five years, caught in the crossfire between the forces of President Bashar Al Assad and dreaded terrorist groups like Daesh. The United States and Russia have talked, but have differed on the role for Assad when peace takes hold. The two again failed to reach a deal on Monday. In order to resolve the crisis, both powers will have to follow a pragmatic approach. The trouble is, both parties back opposite forces in the conflict. They will have to first stop the regime from its indiscriminate bombing of civilians, and then turn their attention to extremist groups of all hues. They should not differentiate between good and bad terrorists. Terror in all its forms must be rooted out militarily for a just transition to peace and democracy.