Since 2001, the US has admitted roughly 750,000 refugees

Syr flagsand none have been accused of involvement in domestic terrorism aimed at the US homeland, as pointed out by The Economist and included in Juan Cole’s excellent list of why we shouldn’t be so cowardly about accepting refugees:

8. The US owes these refugees. Without the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, there would have been no al-Qaeda in that part of the world, and no al-Qaeda offshoots like Daesh/ ISIL. Why do the governors (most of whom supported the invasion of Iraq) think the US can go around the world sowing instability and being responsible for creating the conditions that lead to millions of refugees but then can avoid the responsibility of ameliorating those broken lives?

Number 8 is important but the whole list is good. As Pierce pointed out, when the president of France confirmed yesterday that they would accept 30,000 Syrian refugees, the argument is effectively over. Sorry, this pandering foolishness must end. Yes, people can be and are scared. But the ones we should be focused on are those forced to leave their homes with young children.

Image via Reuters.