Trump can make the best of things in Iraq and Syria with 'expeditionary economics'

History will not look kindly on the failure of the United States and its allies to intervene early against the Islamic State and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in Iraq and Syria since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, and the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament have officially declared the Islamic State's slaughter of Yazidis, Christians, and other minorities in the region a genocide.

America's allies in Europe are faced with an unprecedented refugee crisis that has shaken the continent's political foundations to the core. The terror threat in both Europe and the U.S. is higher than ever.

It is now up to the Trump administration to get things right in Iraq and Syria. President Trump's missile strike against the Assad regime in April was a welcome sign that the U.S. has found its moral resolve after years of passivity. The recent liberation of Mosul is another step in the right direction.

However, to succeed in the long term, the U.S. and its allies will have to bring more to the table than the will to act militarily. The refugee crisis makes it paramount to restore the ability of Iraqis and Syrians to build a safe and prosperous future for themselves. Without security and economic opportunity, refugees will be unable to return home, and their host countries will have to carry an enormous economic and social burden until refugees are fully integrated.

Restoring the devastated regions of Iraq and Syria will require a new, bottom-up approach to post-conflict reconstruction, focusing on local security and entrepreneurship rather than the traditional approach of central planning by national governments and international organizations. Economist Carl Schramm made the case for this new kind of "expeditionary economics" in a Foreign Affairs article in 2010. It is high time to implement Schramm's vision.