A Burden of Love

Over a year ago, I noted the pleas of some to help Syria care for the one million Sunni Arab Iraqis who have fled to Syria. I wasn't too sympathetic to Damascus since the Syrians helped cause the refugee flow by sending terrorists into Iraq to murder. Those refugees represent a base of support for Baathist insurgents in Iraq and a source of money for the imported jihadis. To me, it was good to see Damascus paying a price for their war against Iraq and our forces, and I was not willing to essentially subsidize their war against us by providing aid to the refugees.

Strategypage describes the situation well:

The UN is having a hard time raising money to support the two million Sunni Arabs who have fled Iraq. It's no secret that many of these fled because they had blood on their hands, or feared getting killed along with those that did. Saddams key aides took billions of dollars with them, and spent more of it on terrorism back in Iraq, then to aid their fellow Sunni Arabs in exile. Potential donors to UN relief efforts see the risk of the news media taking a close look at the Iraqi exile community, and they back off. At the same time, the media does not like to dwell on exactly who the Iraqi refugees are, and exactly why they fled. War does strange things to people.

These aren't poor babies--they are enablers of murder both past and present and should not receive one dime from the West. Let them cut a deal with the Iraqi government and take their chances. The Syrians need to pressure their guests to cut a deal and get out.

Or Syria can keep paying for them and watch their guests' anger slowly turn on Damascus. Those refugees will be a source of unrest that Damascus will have to fight if those Iraqi Sunnis remain in Syria too long.