Date: 12/3/2015
Editor Mike Dobbs writes that the events in Paris are “more complicated than the memes and tweets would have us believe.” He asks, “Shouldn't our actions and opinions be based on fact?” He says he is “intrigued and sickened, all at once” about the reactions he has seen.
Absolutely, Mike. I agree. So why did you spend your entire column mocking any opinions that did not agree with your pre-conceived notions, and not offer any meaningful refuting facts or evidence? Mike accuses “some people” of wanting to return to the policies of WWII, putting innocent people in internment camps. It’s the same mocking, dismissive, insulting, tone President Obama adopted when he accused Republicans of “being afraid of widows and orphan refugees from Syria.” Obviously, neither Mike nor the President is approaching the issue with any respect for the facts or the complexity, or any respect for those with whom they disagree. It's an unfortunate habit of liberals.
Vetting of Syrian refugees requires access to government records within Syria. But there are few such records currently available to the US in Syria, which is in the midst of a civil war, whose government is an enemy of the U.S. If there were such records available, FBI Director James Comey would not have told Congress that there were none available, as did his counterterrorism chief, Michael Steinbach, in their testimony before Congress. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said the possibility of ISIS operatives getting into the U.S. through the refugee program is a “huge concern.” Even the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has admitted that they don't really know who the refugees are. In short, all those whose job it is to protect our nation from attack have raised a red flag, noting that Syrian refugees cannot be sufficiently vetted. The President is flatly lying when he claims they “pose no more danger than tourists.”
Other data indicate that 70 percent of Syrian refugees are men – not widows and orphans. While it may be that the men have left their families in Syria in the belief that ISIS would not kill or enslave their wives and children, it is still a fact that young men with no intact family unit with them are overwhelmingly more exposed to being seduced by ISIS terrorism. And they are already mad at the US for extending the Syrian crisis and letting ISIS expand there.
The problems do not stop when refugees are admitted. Regardless of their country of origin, most refugees are penniless, and must go on the dole immediately and often for a long period. There are not enough jobs for our own citizens, and being jobless and on the dole is psychologically debilitating, which in turn creates resentment and disillusionment with our society. Their religion makes it harder for them to fit in to American mainstream culture. It is no accident that most of the Paris attackers, the Tsarnaev brothers, the 9/11 hijackers and others were refugees who became jihadists in the West.
So, yes, Mike. The issue is complex. Sure, it’s true that since Barack and Hilary are responsible for creating the Syrian crisis, we bear some responsibility, but it doesn’t mean that the US is obliged to totally deny the dangers that unchecked Syrian refugees present. Why not adopt the reasonable, middle-of-the-road position of Governor Baker, who refused to sign the Republican governors’ moratorium letter, but simply asked for more assurances from the federal government before opening our cities to unlimited, unvetted refugees?
R. Patrick Henry Jr.
East Longmeadow
