For EU, the strains of a humanitarian crisis

WASHINGTON — European Union interior ministers holding an emergency meeting in Brussels agreed Monday to resettle an initial group of 40,000 Syrian refugees, the EU ambassador to the United States says. But they'll need more time to resolve conflicts over a proposal to deal with 120,000 more and then with a flood of migrants that have followed.

"The war in Syria has created the greatest humanitarian tragedy probably of our generation," Ambassador David O'Sullivan said on Capital Download. "This is putting the European system under unprecedented pressure. It's not surprising that we've struggled a little to find what's the best response, and we'll probably need a little bit more time to find a way forward."

The fiercest debate involves a proposal unveiled last week by EU President Jean-Claude Juncker to impose mandatory quotas on all 28 EU members to take a specified number of another 120,000 Syrian asylum-seekers, an idea embraced by Germany but rejected by Hungary and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

O'Sullivan told USA TODAY's weekly video newsmaker series that "the good side of the European character" has been demonstrated in Greece, Italy, Germany and elsewhere by providing safe haven for migrants who have made a dangerous journey from war-torn Syria. He adds, "We also have to acknowledge that many people are frightened. Many people are worried that somehow this situation (will be) getting out of control."

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Donald Trump's Great Wall — it didn't work for the Ming Dynasty either

Donald Trump is vowing to build a wall along the U.S. Southern border with Mexico, likening it to the Great Wall of China and even dubbing his proposed border barrier "The Great Wall of Trump."

It's a key part of a tough-on-immigration stance that has powered him to front-runner status in Republican polls and will likely be touted again by the billionaire real estate developer at Wednesday's debate.

Yet, just as the Ming Dynasty’s 13,000-mile wall failed to keep out the Manchurians, Trump's barricade would likely be an ineffective way of addressing the nation’s immigration challenges, border experts say.

"The consensus is, it didn’t work very well,’’ said Edward Alden, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, of the wall that dates back to the 14th century, which the Manchurians repeatedly broke through.

The idea of walling off a nation, either to stop immigration flows or foreign invaders, has broad historical appeal — from Roman Emperor Hadrian’s stone wall to Israel’s West Bank wall and Northern Ireland’s divide between its Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods. However, walls are often more symbolic barriers than practical ones. The Germans just marched around the French Maginot Line to invade Belgium, and the Manchurians repeatedly broke through the Great Wall of China.

Even the most ardent critics of U.S. immigration policy are not clamoring for a wall. The emphasis, they say, should be on cracking down on those who overstay their visas and the companies that employ them.

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