Syrian Refuges should be allowed to enter the United States of America.

In ROUND 2 of this debate, my opponent acknowledges that the Syrian refugee crisis likely has no end in sight, because of the complicated nature and developments of the Syrian Civil War. The countries of Russia and Iran are fiercely promoting and supporting, financially and militarily, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a leader who the United States and its global allies are accusing of human rights violations and war crimes [1][2]. In summer of 2013, for example, the United States publically concluded and brought forward evidence that the Syrian regime had illegally used chemical weapons that killed hundreds of unarmed civilians during a fight against rebel forces, a conclusion which the UN human right's office likewise reached and was able to implicate on the highest levels of the Syrian government, including President al-Assad [1][2]. The international community responded by placing pressure on the Syrian government to hand over its chemical weapons stockpile and destroy it [3]. Even though Syria did succumb to pressure and handed over much of its chemical weapons/material stockpile, the global chemical weapons watchdog in charge during the handover concluded the government did not hand over all the material and weapons [3], and there are indications that the regime is now using these weapons regularly in the fighting [4]. For this reason and numerous other human rights violations, the Obama Administration and close international allies are pressing for Bashar al-Assad to give up power. Complicating this effort though are Russia and Iran's relentless support of the Assad regime, which they're backing financially, militarily, and fiercely through publicity [5]. So the Syrian Civil War drags on; as does the Syrian refugee crisis. The only common enemy appears to be ISIS. Unless the major international players can agree on a unified Syrian policy, the refugee crisis is likely to drag on. Prolonged Syrian Civil War Will Most Likely Result in Continued Displacement and Exodus of Syrians My opponent brings up an excellent point in this ROUND: Isn't there other ways the United States and other nations can assist refugees, without having to resettle them in the country? Yes, there are! And many countries, including the United States, are already doing things to accomodate and support refugees without having them immigrate and resettle in their lands. Keep in mind, however, that 12 million Syrians--roughly half the population of the country--have been displaced by the civil war, and the familiar locations and homes of these people have been decimated or are caught in the thick of on-going warfare [6]. To add to their list of woes, many individuals are facing persistent persecution because of their ethnic or religious identity, or because of questions about their loyalty to a particular regime or group [6]. The day is filled with persistent violence and the constant threat of death looms over once familiar swathes of Syria [6]. This constant aggravation is literally bringing out many of the underlying prejudices and ethnic hatreds inside the country, and so for many Syrians the best choice appears to be to get up and leave [6], especially now that the threat of upheavel has been magnified by the medieval, sadistic practices of the terror group ISIS in the eastern part of the country [7][8]. Practically no part of Syria is now safe. But some Syrians, even millions of the displaced, still stay.The United States is coming to the aid of these Syrians by providing healthcare, food, water, and basic necesities, in one of the largest humanitarian efforts in history [7]. So far the United States has provided $4.5 billion in humanitarian assistance, to help both Syrians inside Syria and in neighboring countries [7]. The U.S. government estimates that it is helping 6.6 million Syrians per month with assistance [7]. The United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Kuwait, Iran, Israel, Turkey, Japan, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and a number of global humanitarian groups are also providing help to Syrians in a number of ways, which includes providing financial assistance and food, medical supplies and medical assistance, and other crucial items [9], a result of a successfully passed Security Council resolution to get the warring parties to stop blocking delivery of humanitarian supplies [10]. As of yesterday, the European Union announced it would be following through with a 350 million euro trust fund to help Syrians displaced by the fighting and now residing in a number of nations throughout the Middle East [11]. The support will be used in a variety of ways to improve life for refugees where they now reside [11].As we can see, the United States, a number of other nations and international humanitarian groups are already helping Syrians in desperate need. But the war inside Syria rages on. People inside the country continue to get displaced. Syria is not safe.The UN estimates that 250,000 Syrians have been killed by the war since it began [12]. As of September of this year, an estimated 4.1 million Syrians have fled the country, and 6.5 million people are displaced internally [12]. One out of every five refugees in the world are now Syrian [12]. The four-year old civil war has decimated life in Syria, and the impact can be measured in numerous ways: many of the country's police stations have stopped functioning; rates of theft and looting have risen; Syria's economy has shrunk by 50% since 2011; the toll of infrastructure damage/destruction is estimated to be well in the billions of dollars; food and clean water has to be transported from abroad in many places; sectarian/intra-ethnic violence has increased dramatically, and significant fractions of some ethnic groups have been wiped out [13]. The World Health Organization reports that 35% of Syrian hospitals are now out of service, and up to 70% of all healthcare professionals have fled the country because of the fighting [9].The bottomline is that the prolonged Syrian Civil War will result in the continued displacement and exodus of Syrians. There is no way around this fact, if present conditions continue.Millions of Syrians have fled the nation, and if the fighting continues, we can expect that number to rise even more. Nations around the world, including close US allies, are now resettling Syrian refugees within their own borders, because they realize life inside of Syria is intolerable. Presently the future looks bleak for those inside of Syria. No one and nowhere is safe inside the country. It is a wasteless, unless conditions inside Syria can improve. But until that happens, fleeing refugees will need a place to resettle and rebuild their lives from scratch.Now, in no one am I arguing that the United States should resettle any random Syrian inside the country. With the threat of terrorism so clear in our modern age, I would be foolish and truly ignorant to argue such a thing. But we cannot deny entry to all Syrians simply because we know a some individuals from that part of the world practice terrorism. We don't have to develop a prejudice in fear for our lives. That kind of thinking has been practiced throughout history and it's only led to greater hatred and increased violence in our world. Instead, we should vet these refugees carefully, even stubbornly, and permit into our country those that show a genuine willingness to work with our nation's philosophy and way of life to improve themselves. A good Syrian is as good as any other foreign national inside our borders. Let's not deny these the opportunity to reconstruct their lives and make us proud.Denying morally-decent Syrians an opportunity to improve their lives inside our borders because of where they were born and the religion they identify as makes us just as bad as the people we profess to fight abroad. Good people deserve a chance as long as opportunities exist and there's a place to put them. Bad people do not.That's the only distinction that must matter.[1] http://www.cbsnews.com... [2] http://www.bbc.com... [3] http://www.reuters.com... [4] http://tribune.com.pk... [5] http://www.reuters.com... [6] https://www.whitehouse.gov...[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com...[8] http://www.dailymail.co.uk...[9] https://en.wikipedia.org...[10] http://www.nytimes.com...[11] http://sofiaglobe.com...[12] http://www.cnn.com...[13] https://en.wikipedia.org...