As part of his blitz of latest executive orders, which as reported yesterday would institute sweeping changes to U. S. refugee and immigration policies including a ban on people from countries in the Middle East and North Africa deemed as a “terror risk”, a separate order also lays the groundwork for an escalation of U. S. military involvement in Syria by directing the Pentagon and the State Department to craft a plan to create safe zones for civilians fleeing the conflict there.
Trump said on Wednesday he “will absolutely do safe zones in Syria” for refugees fleeing violence. According to a document seen by Reuters, Trump is expected to order the Pentagon and the State Department in the coming days to come up with a plan for the zones.
Such safe zones could provide an alternative to admitting refugees to the U. S. according to Trump, but would also force greater US military deployment to the region.
According to the WSJ, the safe-zone proposal represents a significant policy reversal from the administration of Barack Obama, who long resisted pressure for such an approach from Congress and U. S. allies in the Middle East because he believed it would draw the U. S. too deeply into another war.
This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jan 26, 2017.
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