# Should the US agree to take a share of the refugees trying to seek asylum in Europe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 3, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864 "2015-09-03T23:04:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/21 "2015-09-04T14:37:43Z")
Fwiw, they have a huge rate of start up businesses when they come in, mainly because no one wants to employ them. Absolutely ideal for deprived inner cities - transformational. No idea where they get the start up money from. Put 5,000 Syrians in Baltimore and it’ll be Seattle in a decade … ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/22 "2015-09-04T14:43:45Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have heard the same thing. Suppose Putin sends in crack troops (Specnaz); and orders them to completely destroy ISIS (and their supporters). Then Putin would become enormously popular-he would be hailed as a defender of civilization. He might also save the Syrian Christians. He could also send an army of magical unicorns to spread happy dust all across Syria and stop the war. But it’s probably even more unlikely. Our own special forces - just as well trained and far better equipped than Spetznaz - couldn’t win a war in Afghanistan alone in 10 years, despite enough bribe money to build every Afghani his own palace. Thinking the Russians can just send in a platoon and win the war in Syria to destroy ISIS is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/23 "2015-09-04T14:56:59Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He could also send an army of magical unicorns to spread happy dust all across Syria and stop the war. But it’s probably even more unlikely. Our own special forces - just as well trained and far better equipped than Spetznaz - couldn’t win a war in Afghanistan alone in 10 years, despite enough bribe money to build every Afghani his own palace. Thinking the Russians can just send in a platoon and win the war in Syria to destroy ISIS is ridiculous. The US could not win in Afghanistan, because we never descended to the brutality required (destruction of civilian population, no surrender tactics). Putin will have ISIS completely destroyed, and no one will complain. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/24 "2015-09-04T15:01:46Z")
Well, I’m convinced. All hail Lord Putin! ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/25 "2015-09-04T15:06:27Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The US could not win in Afghanistan, because we never descended to the brutality required (destruction of civilian population, no surrender tactics). Putin will have ISIS completely destroyed, and no one will complain. Exactly. Witness the unbridled Soviet success in Afghanistan 35 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/26 "2015-09-04T15:08:36Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Are any of the super wealthy oil rich arab states taking any of these refugees in? Shouldn’t they shoulder more if not all of the burden of these refugees? This seems like a good question. Why aren’t refugees traveling to Saudi Arabia and from there to other Gulf States? Seems a bit closer than Germany, and no large bodies of water to cross on dangerous rafts. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/27 "2015-09-04T15:11:07Z")
Well that’s at least three incomparable situations compared; any more - first one who shouts ‘Vietnam’ wins a freshly minted passport of their choice. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/28 "2015-09-04T15:11:08Z")
There arent nearly enough Russian special forces to get the job done. But drop em all in Syria/Iraq. It will ease the situation in the eastern Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/29 "2015-09-04T15:14:16Z")
> [@](#): > > This seems like a good question. Why aren’t refugees traveling to Saudi Arabia and from there to other Gulf States? Seems a bit closer than Germany, and no large bodies of water to cross on dangerous rafts Because it’s really hard to travel a thousand miles on foot to non-desolate areas of Saudi Arabia. 3 million have fled to Turkey and Jordan. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/30 "2015-09-04T15:31:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Because it’s really hard to travel a thousand miles on foot to non-desolate areas of Saudi Arabia. 3 million have fled to Turkey and Jordan. It’s 350 miles from Damascus to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, which isn’t desolate. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/31 "2015-09-04T15:35:06Z")
Tabuk is on the other side of Jordan. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/32 "2015-09-04T15:35:16Z")
> [@Construct](#): > > No, the majority of refugees fleeing to Europe appear to be young and middle aged men, aka military aged males. There’s no reason Europe or America should take men too cowardly and weak to fight for their countries and their homelands. I see no reason why any disempowered person should be expected to fix whatever violent chaos is being perpetrated by hooligans of their ethnicity and/or political-regional identity. By that logic, **[Godwin alert]** … the Jewish people living in Germany should logically have risen up and taken Germany out of the hands of the Third Reich, and any of them who instead attempted to get the hell out of there should be viewed as cowardly and weak **[/Godwin]** Nor for that matter is there any reason to specify “miltary aged males”; if it is cowardly for a 190 pound 25 year old healthy man to want to get away from a land infested with crazyass machinegun-toting violent people driving around in jeeps, it isn’t markedly less cowardly for 11 year old girls or 88 year old wheelchair-bound gentlemen to do the same, since as individuals they aren’t going to be appreciably better equipped to fix the problem. You can also view it as a tactical retreat if you wish. If military aged males (or anyone else) are going to mount a resistance it may be first necessary to get away from the chaos and regroup and seek alliances and do some planning from some place where they aren’t running as fast and as far as possible just to survive from moment to moment. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/33 "2015-09-04T15:39:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Tabuk is on the other side of Jordan. No way, really? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/34 "2015-09-04T15:48:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The US could not win in Afghanistan, because we never descended to the brutality required (destruction of civilian population, no surrender tactics). Putin will have ISIS completely destroyed, and no one will complain. Whereas the Soviets were so successful in Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/35 "2015-09-04T18:00:13Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I see no reason why any disempowered person should be expected to fix whatever violent chaos is being perpetrated by hooligans of their ethnicity and/or political-regional identity. By that logic, > > **[Godwin alert]** > … the Jewish people living in Germany should logically have risen up and taken Germany out of the hands of the Third Reich, and any of them who instead attempted to get the hell out of there should be viewed as cowardly and weak > **[/Godwin]** It is not the German Jews’ fault that German _soldiers_ outnumbered Jewish _civilians_ 10 to 1. It _is_ Iraq’s fault that their soldiers can outnumber ISIS’s fighters 15 to 1 and still be routed. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/36 "2015-09-04T18:40:07Z")
We should definitely take in more people. Allow special fast-tracked immigration from countries that are war-torn, ruled by dictators, or in shambles. These people have suffered enough. Lowering the average household income of all Americans by a few dollars so these people can survive is the right thing to do ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/37 "2015-09-04T19:44:02Z")
At least they probably won’t decide to go to Syria to fight for ISIS. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/38 "2015-09-04T20:36:48Z")
Even if we do agree to accept some unknown number of refugees, how do they get here and who pays for that? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/39 "2015-09-04T21:10:21Z")
Why doesn’t the moslem world help out with this? surely Turkey, iran, SA, Egypt can take them? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864/40 "2015-09-04T21:37:13Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Why doesn’t the moslem world help out with this? surely Turkey, iran, SA, Egypt can take them? Yeah. I mean, Iceland agreed to take 50. When is Turkey going to stand up and do their part, what with their hosting a measly 1.9 million Syrian refugees? 2.1 million are in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. 350,000 Syrians have applied for asylum in Europe’s 37 countries since the start of the conflict. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-agree-to-take-a-share-of-the-refugees-trying-to-seek-asylum-in-europe/729864.md?page=3)