The Wall Street Journal, in an article dated April 8, 2011, “France Resurrects Border With Italy,” reports France’s effort to reestablish security:
“The operation is part of France’s attempt to stop a wave of North African migrants who, having fled violence back home, regard Italy as a way station as they travel by boat, train and foot toward jobs and family in French cities.”
For France, as well as the U.S. and the other nations involved, being “humanitarian” means intervening in Libya’s civil war. It does not extend to freely accepting refugees from Libya or Tunisia.
The military intervention is likely to worsen the situation in Libya, adding to the number of lives lost. Allowing free migration, by contrast, would allow people to escape the war, saving lives.
The military intervention is inconsistent with the limited role of government. Welcoming refugees, by contrast, embraces an individual right—the right to migrate. This is the true humanitarian course.
