The tragic death of the three-year-old Aylan Kurdi shocked the world. The harrowing images went viral on social media and elicited passionate response. Given the short attention span of the human mind, it will be forgotten in a few days. It could also become a watershed moment for Syria. It's about time the world finally wakes up from its slumber and actually does something about Syria. Europe can take the lead as it is bearing the brunt of the refugee crisis. The Obama administration has failed the Syrians and doesn't seem interested in adopting a constructive stance.
Europe has seen massive waves of refugees in the past. It is, however, for the first time that it is experiencing the fallout of the Syrian civil war. Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have been witness to it for long, each hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. These waves of humanity started trickling in way before the rise of the Islamic State.
Bashar-al-Assad and his backers (Iran and Hezbollah) have long perpetuated massive crimes against humanity. Islamic State's barbarianism pales in comparison to what the Assad regime has been doing for the last four and a half years. Use of chemical weapons, carpet bombing of civilian compounds, liberal use of barrel bombs and blocking of aid to millions are some of the more prominent crimes.
The Obama administration ignored Turkey's requests for imposing a no-fly zone over Syria. This alone has contributed to a major chunk of human misery in Syria. The Assad regime continues to pound civilian population as the world looks the other way. One could explain Russia and China's diplomatic support of the Assad regime. Both states have a dismal human rights record. One couldn't overlook the indifference of the U.S. France was enthusiastic about using the United Nations Security Council to reign in on the brutal Assad regime. American reticence and Sino-Soviet vetoes upended those efforts.
Europe can take a few key steps in stopping the seemingly endless wave of refugees. First, it could work with Turkey, Qatar and other regional players to create buffer zones inside Syria for the displaced. This will essentially include the imposition of no-fly zones over most, if not all of the Syrian airspace. The Assad regime should no longer be allowed to inflict misery on its own citizens.
Second, Europe must find out ways to work with Turkey and other willing partners to address the root cause of the Syrian civil war: the continuation of the Assad regime. Despite all the barbarianism of the Islamic State, the Assad regime (and its backers) are responsible for the mayhem. There seems to be a growing perception in the Middle East that the West is trying to overlook Assad in its fight against the IS. The U.S., for one, has apparently forgotten about him altogether in a bid to get closer with Tehran (which, ironically, is the co-perpetrator of the violence).
The IS threat needs to be taken seriously. It, however, is a byproduct of the civil war. It could only be defeated when the dictatorial and blood-thirsty regime is replaced with a popular government. It does seem like a long shot but the world has not pursued it in the first place. The resultant vacuum has spawned the extremist outfits and will continue to do so in future.
Perhaps the time is right to push for a change. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have died and millions of others have been displaced. A significant number of these hapless people are now knocking on the doors of Europe. It can't accept them all yet can't turn the other way. The solution lies in tackling the beast and run it over.