Gen. Zinni: Symptoms of Refugee Crisis Addressed, Not the Problem

Retired U.S. Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni says more needs to be done to combat potential terror threats and enable refugees to return home.

“The problem is we’re dealing with the symptoms and not the problem,” Zinni said. “The problem is obviously ISIS and Syria- the root cause of these refugee situations- and NATO should stand up to this.”

He added: “Germany is suffering a problem, France was attacked, Belgium has a problem. We’ve had San Bernardino and yet no one invokes Article 5 and really deals with this. I think we should end this. We basically have a strategy of containment and slow attrition. That’s going to continue to cause these problems of refugees, potential attacks. We need to stand up to the potential challenge.”

Zinni said more issues could arise if no action is taken.

“There will be more refugees, more atrocities committed, more potential attacks here. Vetting these refugees causes internal political issues and problems here, Germany, France and elsewhere,” he said. “Again, you have to go to the root of the problem and resolve it and not continue to treat these symptoms.”

When asked about the Republican response to refugees, Zinni said: “I don’t think we [the U.S.] should take this out on all Muslims. Many of the Muslims in the region have suffered at the hands of ISIS and have suffered at the hands of other Muslims and many of them, in my experience, have fought by our side against these problems.”

Zinni doesn’t think this is an issue regarding Muslims.

“It is an issue of making sure we do vet the refugees. It is a case of making sure we try to get them back home and solve the problems back there,” he concludes.