Editorial Board

NATO Can Fight Terrorism and Help Refugees

Saving lives in the Mediterranean would also help defeat Islamic State.

June 26, 2017 at 6:00 AM UTC

By The Editorial Board

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

NATO can help.
Photographer: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has now formally enlisted in the fight against Islamic State. It can begin by helping to stem the flow of refugees trying to reach Europe from North Africa.

This would be more than a humanitarian exercise; it would be a counterterrorism operation. Wherever refugees gather in hopelessness, violent extremists have a fertile recruiting ground. And the number of refugees is staggering.