To state the international, political landscape drastically changed in one week would be a gross understatement. The attacks in Paris, France, on Nov. 13 should not have been a shock to anyone, yet they were.
These events were just another reminder that the world is at war with terrorism. Not an undefined brand of terrorism, but a very specific type of terrorism. People and countries can disagree with that statement if they want, but they do so at their peril. The state of war only requires one side to believe they are at war, and they have the means in which to advance that conviction. It is that simple.
Once we accept that very simple fact, we must resolve to respond appropriately, something we have failed to do. When I say we, I mean all of us, but in particular our political representatives. However, as with so many issues, the political solution usually isn’t the right response. We have become a country where commonsense is seen as racist, “fill-in the blank”-phobic, or just plain counter to one person’s political dogma. Our enemies see and exploit this.
The first fact we must accept is that we are at war with a large group of people that professes to the followers of Mohammed. The same people believe their mission is ordained by their God, as prescribed by the scriptures written within the Qur’an. They also believe they are part of a Holy War, and that the Western world is their sworn enemy. In particular, this army believes they represent the one true Islam, and they are at war with the infidel. Whether you and I believe otherwise is irrelevant. One of the truths of this war is that it is abundantly clear Islam has lost control of their faith, and the silent majority that some identify as “moderate Muslims” are unable to control the millions killing in the name of Islam. That is a harsh reality, but an undisputed fact. A fact that has been used to kill, maim and enslave millions.
The second fact is that millions have fled the Middle East, especially from the war-torn regions of Syria, Iraq and Libya. These migrants are fleeing because of the current actions of the previously identified group many refer to as radical Islamic fundamentalists. Contrary to the remarks by President Obama, the migrants are not just “widows and orphans.” Obama’s remarks are both ignorant and dangerous. A casual observation of news reports by the BBC, Aljazeera, France24, Greece EPT and other international news services can clearly see the migrants being classified as Syrian refugees are comprised of a large group of young, adult males and females.
Additionally, it is also clear by these news reports that the refugees seemed be comprised of many different nationalities and regional backgrounds. This has been confirmed by aid groups and government agencies on the ground.
Once we cut through the political filter and look at the facts, we are still left with two huge problems. The first is what to do about the group identified as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as Islamic State (IS), and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The second problem is how we handle the “refugee crisis.” The possible answer to both those questions in full would take more space than I am afforded. However, the response from our political representatives has been dangerously incompetent.
Considering the current state of the world, and in particular the area that the refugees are coming from, we cannot take them in, nor can we ignore them. We have already been informed by our criminal investigation and intelligence agencies that all traditional and time-tested methods used to perform background checks on any possible refugee from the affected area would be useless. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and FBI Director James Comey are on record saying they could not guarantee the true identity and motives of any refugee the agencies would be responsible for screening. Additionally, some of the initial screening would be done by the highly incompetent and corrupt United Nations. The chain of validation cannot be assured with any real degree of certainty, and to ignore that fact will place Americans in danger. In Clapper’s own words before Congress: “We don’t obviously put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees.”
ISIS has not been shy about its desire to use the refuge crisis as a means to infiltrate the West. Intelligence reports indicate that as many 4,000 “covert” terrorists are already intermingled among the current wave of migrants. We know the planner of the Paris attacks, Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud, entered France identified as a refugee. At this writing, five Syrians were arrested in Honduras trying to head to the United States with stolen passports. The Wall Street Journal reported this past week that “Syrian passports are the most popular fake documents being sold on a thriving black market.” We would be doing more harm than good by carelessly believing we can safely manage all of those we would allow into our country. The truth just does not bear that out.
America is a compassionate country, but that compassion does not mean we should recklessly place American citizens in jeopardy. This is unlike any other refugee crisis we have experienced in the past. The cold, hard fact is this group of refugees is fleeing a region in which a large group of terrorists have vowed to destroy us, and with very little effort, the same terrorists have already subverted the refugee groups.
Additionally, it is unfathomable to think we as a country will be letting able bodied Syrian men into our country through one door, while at the same time letting American sons and daughters walk out another door to go and fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq. There is something terribly wrong with that.
The international community, led by America, would be better served to create a neutral safe zone where we can relocate the refugees, with a plan to repatriate them to their homeland once the region is stable. This makes more sense logistically, financially and does more to ensure those terrorists who are hiding among the refugees will have a harder time exporting their brand of terrorism. With the safety zone established, maybe then the world will do the right thing and come together to stabilize the region. Or we can just wait for another Paris.
