The Boston Globe, Feb. 10:
The pain that Jordanians feel after the brutal murder of downed fighter pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh by Islamic State militants in Syria is one that, after the beheading of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Americans can relate to. Jordan is a crucial ally in the fight against ISIS, and the best way for the United States to show solidarity is to help the Hashemite kingdom manage one of the war’s major side effects: the influx of Syrian refugees.
Jordan joined the coalition against the Islamic State last year. Until recently, however, the air campaign wasn’t popular among ordinary Jordanians, who feared that bombing Syria would just invite trouble back home. That changed after a video of Kasasbeh ”“ whose plane crashed near the Syrian town of Raqqa, which is currently occupied by the Islamic State ”“ being burned alive was released by militants. The horrendous crime stiffened the resolve of Jordan’s people in the fight against ISIS.
The United States should certainly continue its robust support for Jordan, which includes access to sophisticated American equipment, training, and funding. Indeed, the F-16 fighter jet that Kasasbeh was flying when he crashed was paid for by a grant from the U.S. government. Last year, the United States provided Jordan with $1 billion in economic and military aid, and the Department of Defense gave the country an unspecified amount of money to help Jordan secure its border with Syria.
The bigger problem is helping Jordan deal with the human cost of the Syrian civil war. More than 614,000 Syrian civilians displaced by the war have fled to Jordan ”“ an influx of people that has raised Jordan’s population by 10 percent, according to a Congressional Research Service report prepared last December. That flood of refugees risks pushing Jordanian society to its breaking point. According to the same report, rents in border towns like Mafraq and Ramtha have tripled as Syrian refugees have poured into the area, displacing many Jordanians. But since the crisis began in 2012, the United States has only given Jordan $445 million in aid to help refugees.
That number needs to be increased dramatically ”“ and soon. Jordan can count on U.S. support in a joint military campaign against a common enemy. But helping manage the influx of refugees will show the Jordanian people that a stable Jordan is just as much of an American foreign policy priority as the defeat of ISIS.
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