Transcripts For CSPAN Washington Journal 20151121

Everyone knows that Carbon Dioxide is a far greater threat than suicide bombers in shopping malls across america. All right, charlie from new york. A few more headlines. The New York Times as more details of the american who was killed in the attack in mali. Theu. S. Victim worked in health. Datar. American known to have died in the attack according to the United Nations officials. The family put up the statements, we are devastated is gone. A unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism. The palladiumor group come on International Development Consulting Firm in washington, and had spent the report in cnn says that dozens are being monitored for fear of a copycat attack here in the u. S. The story says that the fbi is closely monitoring the people they think pose the highest threat to carry out an attack in the u. S. That is according to the fbi director and attorney general loretta lynch. Over 100 joint Terrorism Task force investigations and issa sympathizers were undertaken. We want to know, are you worried of an attack on the u. S. . We will go to tommy. Caller good morning. Im not really that worried about it because i know it is going to happen. Has always been, and always will be, new york city. Home of city is the finance and everything, and isis knows we love money. I think it will happen around thanksgiving. The macys day parade comes through new york city on thanksgiving. Like a set, the terrorists know that we love money, and we love our parades, and are more ingested in the pleasures of this world than being the next host are you confident in the u. S. Governments ability to handle or prevent a terrorist attack or the aftermath of one . Caller no. We have a 19 trillion debt, and were worried about how we will get rid of this debt. That is all we want to talk about, the 19 trillion debt. A 19 trillion debt is back, and hurts everybody, but what will hurt everybody is if a Nuclear Device is detonated and hurts everybody. Host earlier this week, gop texas senator john corwin says that obama does not have a strategy to fight isis. [video clip] know, this is not about a fight over there, this is about a fight coming here to a neighborhood, a city near you. Isis isg to reports, also planning additional attacks, and on that same day, a new propaganda video popped up online where isis issued a fresh threat to target washington, d. C. Perhaps most concerning, and it is all concerning, is the serious threat we face at home from a jihadist already living here on u. S. Soil. Most of the people who carried werehe attacks in france born and grew up in belgium some of them emigrated, one under a fake syrian passport, apparently. We need to be worried about homegrown, radcliff radicalized terrorists. Host we are taking a comment on whether or not you are worried about an attack on the u. S. Our next color is from florida caller is from florida. Caller most of americans do not know about islam, not too much. I was raised in the middle east. Arabic arabic, i learned when i was a kid. I know the life of mohammed through history and the arabic language. Fs on others. Lie hisseven battles believes were brought by by force. After he died, he married 15 women, the youngest one was six years old. Ate, 63. T caliph host do you believe these battles have yet to take place or are taking place right now . Caller ive tried to teach americans the history so that they understand islam. Isis is not islam. Isis was started after mohammed died. , all ofaded iran, egypt the middle east. They went up to spain by force. We will have to leave it there. Our next color is tiffany from emeryville, california, on the democratic line. Go ahead with your thought. Caller i dont know what the other person was talking about, and i dont know why you let these people go on and on and ramble. Theyre not even saying anything. I do not think anybody with half a brain believes that isis is actually islam. I want to know, when are americans going to Start Talking about being remotely attacked here by jones, silence, or whatever. I feel like i am every day. I feel like im being remotely attacked in my own home. Host all right. Our next color is stephen from ashland, kentucky on the republican mind. Go ahead. Caller yes. Good morning. Good morning. What is your comment this morning . Are you worried about another terrorist attack on the u. S. . Caller i am more concerned than worried. I think, possibly more of a threat than a foreign attack is a homegrown zealot, such as the young man who attacked the tv station in tennessee. By aniven Hope Organization known as the oath keepers. People like myself who are veterans, and who have taken an oath to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and if necessary, take up arms to do so. That is something we are very likely to see in the future. Host all right. We hear you this morning. We have this chart now for you. A group put together terrorism index that shows you the countries that have suffered the greatest impact of terrorism. Is the see that iraq first on the list, the country that has suffered the most from terrorism, followed by nigeria, pakistan, syria. The United States is very far down on the list, if even on it at all. Alana. T colo caller is caller first of all, if we know sleeper cells are in this country, why are these people being taken into custody, rather than let them have the opportunity to wreak havoc on our lives. Our borders are wide open, and have been since 9 11, which was crazy then, and even more so now. They are notw why taking aggressive steps in order to prevent another terrorist attack on american soil like 9 11. Host all right. That is alana calling from kentucky. Congresswoman martha mcsally, the first female fighter pilot, spoke about isis and how to combat it. [video clip] after i was elected, i was appointed to a task force on terrorism. For six months, our Bipartisan Task force looked at this threat. What we found is 30,000 individuals have traveled to iraq and syria to join isis. We know about 4500 are from western and visa waiver countries and 250 are from america. Those are the ones we know. We realize there are so many we do not know. In addition, Law Enforcement has isis related investigations and every single state right now at anases increasing alarming rate. Uses social media to inspire or direct people to travel to isis controlled areas to join the fight, or remain where they are, and commit terrorist attacks where they are. There are no estimate 2000 pro per day. Al media posts they are working at the speed of broadband, and we work at the speed of bureaucracy. Mostumber one finding, the glaring weakness of all is this demonstration does not have a strategy to combat this dangerous threat. I have been focused on National Security for over 30 years, and i can tell you the isis is the most potent terrorist movement that we have faced. They showed, this month, the apparent capability to take down the first airplane since 9 11 and conduct the deadliest attack on france since world war ii. The world is waiting for americas resolve and leadership and a conference of strategy to win. Host that was commerce one martha mcsally. Combatinglking about isis. We want to know if you are worried about another terrorist attack on the u. S. Our next color is mark from san antonio, texas, on the republican line. Caller maam, i believe there is going to be a terrorist attack, many of them. Maybe one will be an atomic bomb. We have a president that does not want to do anything because he has some kind of secret agenda. You have to remember, his last name is obama. Host are you doing anything different in your daily life because of your concerned that there could be another attack . Ander i am waiting learning from all the television broadcasts. Im waiting to see what our representatives will do. Who stands up to say something, and who doesnt. I heard one gentleman yesterday mentioned in teaching obama. It is coming. Are wideern borders open. If they do not come in through there, they will come in through canada, or maybe come in from the ocean on boats. Host we do want to clarify, on the chart that shows how countries have been impacted by terrorism, the United States ranks 35th, behind the united kingdom, and behind greece, but i had of france ahead of france. Of course, that index was conducted in 2014. We turn now to otis. Good morning to you. Caller im not afraid of anything because, hey, we dont have to worry about it. Eople are just paranoid host do you think there should be a draft . Aller yes if you start a war, there must be a draft. Host all right. Is from caller tennessee, davis, good morning to you. Caller what we see here is a wonderful opportunity for us republicans. Benefitse party that the most from fear. The current terror hysteria is really helping us. We can paint the democrats as impotent in responding, and be that has the guns, and we will stand up and protect america. That is undeniable. A few comments from twitter, speaking of guns, this person writes, we have 30,000 gun related deaths in the u. S. Yearly, we have our own homegrown terrorist right now. A wasted emotion, why worry about an attack from terrorists. Ai, are you worried about terrorist attack . Caller im not. Rememberars old, and i when the ku klux klan used to bomb our houses and lynch people in this country. I just want to tell america, get there are some bad things that people have done in this country. Another thing, i just heard the guy say that the president does not have a strategy. Maybe they can work it out. In the newspapers this morning, the Washington Post has this front page story reporting that french reported that another of the suicide bombers had traveled through greece, adding more evidence of how militants have been taking advantage of the same routes used by migrants. Meanwhile, in the New York Times the governor of Washington State has this oped todo not close the door refugees. He writes, the american. Haracter is being tested i have always believed that the United States is a place of refuge for those escaping persecution, starvation, or other horrors. He goes on to write, the house haltthat would essentially the resettlement of refugees fleeing syria is a mistake, driven by fear, not policymaking, and would effectively close our borders to the victims of the Islamic State. He says, i have called for a different approach, i told washingtonians that i would not join those who demonize people because of the country they flee or the religion the practice. Is callinga, jamaal next. Actually, we have lost gem. From staten island, new york, catherine. Caller thats me . Host patio. What is your comment . Caller i want to mention something something with the Syrian Refugees. They keep mentioning greece. Greece has got nothing to do. From turkey. E turkey does nothing to stop them. Them to no way for manage all of them. They should stop talking of that and stop mentioning greece all the time. That is not right. Mentioned thee fivedent he let people from guantanamo just mention that too. I do not think it is fair for greece. Host im guessing you are greek . Caller yes, i am. Host all right. We hear your thoughts this morning. Politico reports that obama has terrored the mali attacks. He was speaking in kuala lumpur, on friday. He condemned the attack as an awful reminder that the scourge of terrorism threatens so many of our nations. Obama offered condolences to the and the victims families, including at least one american. These were innocent people who had everything to live for, and they will be remembered for the joy and love they brought to the world. From florida, we have steve calling now. What is your thought . Caller my thought is for people intohave let the country to replace american workers. When i was in college, in our dormitories, there were people from iran, iraq, palestine, peru, asia, east asia, everywhere. I wonder what the republican politicians would say who are saying now not to let the Syrian Refugees in. I wonder what they would say if they say, well, were taking that mentality, we should not cost intore h1b this country. They are always touting as being so highly specialized in technology, and how they could replace when there are no americans to replace in highly specialized jobs. Which is it . Should we let any of the foreigners into the country, or just the ones that they pick . Host all right. That was steve from florida. Next up is john from new york, on the independent line. You are on the air. Caller im not really worried at all. I think most of these people should just turn their tvs off, to be truthful. Fault when is our they attacked in france. There is no guarantee you will wake up the next day. You have a better chance of getting hit by a car crossing the street than some terrorist shooting you. We have so much violence here. Get shot more likely or killed by someone. Turn your tv set off. It is not that bad. Host this related comment from twitter. All people need to calm down, we have had Mass Shootings all eye. No one blinks an are you worried . Caller i would not go so far as to say i am worried about soil, but i amur concerned. Here are the reasons why. We have about half of this 30 40 of about this country, including the president of the United States, who demonizes those of us who propose Common Sense Solutions and measures to keep our country likefe as possible thoroughly and specifically vetting those people applying for asylum from these muslim countries that are state sponsors of terror. I find it fascinating that people apparently are up in arms over something that donald trump atually did not say about National Registry of muslims. However, they turn a blind eye when the commander in chief of the United States air currently stands in a foreign country, and says he is too busy to be concerned with these notions of American Leadership and america winning. ,s he, as commander in chief is not concerned with america winning, with what is the concern . That is the question every american should be asking today. We now have a president who gets more animated and passionate when he is bashing and mocking the Republican Party, the Opposition Party than when he is talking. Frenchmen who have not been buried yet, and that is just a minor setback. I find it appalling and tragic that there is only people in this country who, for some reason that is beyond me, still support this president. When he gave that press conference the other day, that is exactly who he is. We will leave it there. The New York Times reports that in virginia, a mayor apologizes for his remarks. He said he did not anticipate International Attention to his comments. The mayor, david bowers, a democrat who has held his position for 16 years said, it is not in my heart to be racist or bigoted, and i want to say that i apologize for those offended by my remarks. In other news, all weekend long, we will be featuring the history and literary life of syracuse, new york as our cspan city store goes on the city ur goes on the road. [video clip] mott considered herself a feminist and an activist. Nantucket was a Community Based on the whaling industry. The men would often go off on 35year voyages, leaving the women to manage the household, to the finances, and a lot of them ran businesses. For mott, womens capability and independence was selfevident. The quakers were also one of the first and nominations to allow women to preach. She had always seen female ministers in her childhood. I think that capacity for religious authority also informed her commitment to womens rights. Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 00 p. M. Or visit our cspan. Ity tour website were taking your phone calls on whether or not you were worried about another terrorist attack here in the u. S. We will be talking about this topic all morning long. We will turn out to carnegie, pennsylvania, where mike is on the line. Caller good morning, young lady. Reason for my call is this. You had toappened to have a sponsor, a place to live, you had to be a job, and promise to become an american citizen. Please, hold on. Why can they not take those young fellows, separate them, and put them by themselves so they can separate them to find out what their problem is. The women who come here pregnant, there is no harm for them to come to the United States. What ever happened to that . You had to have a sponsor host i will encourage you to stay tuned to cspan. We will be talking about those very issues, the resettlement process for refugees, as we continue through the morning. Stay tuned to cspan. We will turn out to crystal. Go ahead. Caller good morning. This is my first time calling. I want to say that i am not afraid of any terrorist attacks on this land. I. E. , sleep, and go to work every day. Lets not be afraid of any muslims, christians. The person i am most afraid of his donald trump and his separation of the people of america, his racist comments every day, his humiliation of people. Those are the people i am afraid of. That is who we have to watch out for. Thank you so much for the show today. You have a good day, maam. A few comments now from twitter. One person writes, i am not scared of a terrorist attack, i am scared of americas reaction freedom have an attack, is already scarce enough. Also, another comment, the gop is playing the fear card again, remember, saddam has weapons of destruction. As any from florida is up next. What is your thought . Yes, i am just wondering republican, they should get together, instead of just criticizing, get together, make a plan, and give it to president obama. This is what we need to do. Give him a plan. Host all right. That is anthony from florida. Tim from pennsylvania is our next caller. Go ahead. Well, i am sure there will be more terrorist attacks. I just do not understand these people calling in unconcerned about it. All you have to do is think that back before 9 11, when we them over here. We, due to politicians and their policies, trained people to fly airplanes. What did they do . Bay flew them into the buildings in new york city. My heart goes out to those people who lost loved ones due , andese terrorist attacks anybody who invites the possibility of it happening again does not represent me. Is a caller from ticston, texas, democra line. Caller thank you for taking my call. Im sick and tired of republicans. The president has defended this country. The first year of president bush , who attacked. President obama has protected this country. If you want to go and fight iraq, let Congress Give him powers to fight. It is because the president is a black president , the way i look at it. Host our next caller will be jeff from missouri. Go ahead. Caller this is jeff. How are you doing today . There is nothing being done. Bout cyber terrorism there is so much cyber terrorism going on in this country, and people did not even care about it. It is like they turned a complete blind eye to it. We have invasions of privacy, tornadoes. It is just terrible what they can do with cyber terrorism. I just wish they could do something about it, and how congress, the senate, and the president does not do anything about it they just let it go. Host all right. Ourill be continuing discussion about syria, paris, and mali throughout the morning. You can get your calls and at that time if you did not get a chance to call in for the morning segment. We want to tell you about a quick programming note. On booktv, on cspan two, we will be live all weekend from miami, florida for the miami book fair. Coverage will begin at 10 00 a. M. Both saturday and sunday. Is at the 2016 bus miami book fair. We will be talking about our programming, all of which will be archived on cspan. Org. Bus on follow the twitter and instagram. Comcastl thanks to cable for partnering with us while we are in miami. Next, we will talk about what it takes for refugees to come to Alicia Caldwell. Later, bill frelick of humans willts watch discuss resettlement for refugees. We will be right back. Booktv, 40 hours of nonfiction books and authors. Our featured programs this weekend include the 32nd annual miami book fair. Our lives, all day coverage begins today. Afterwards with the book kissinger. It made him stand out from the pack of people who thought you could solve the cold war with systems analysis. 8 00, thenight at former editor of the newspaper, and. Thor of Islamic State watch booktv all weekend every weekend on cspan 2. Cspan has the best access to ofgress with live coverage the house on cspan, and the senate on cspan 2. Over thanksgiving, watch our conversations with freshmen members of congress. At 10 30, a new jersey democrat and Longtime Union electrician. Friday at 10 00 eastern, a california democrat and former restaurant owner. 10 30, a republican from North Carolina and a baptist minister. Saturday morning at 10 00 eastern, it is a republican from california, former state senator who interned in d. C. At 10 30, a marine who served for tors in iraq. Your best ask access to congress is on cspan, cspan radio, and cspan. Org. Washington journal continues. Host we are speaking out with Alicia Caldwell. She is the Homeland Security associated press. How much does it take for refugees to come here . Guest it takes a lot. Regardless of where they come from, you start with basic parameters who are you, where are you from, what is your birth date, your biographical data, then your biometrics. All of that is taken in with what is known what is known to Law Enforcement, the federal government, intelligence. They dig deeper. Who are your relatives, who have you spoken with . Any piece of data they can get, they will take and look, and check out your story. If you are saying you are being persecuted because of your faith or membership in a sort of social or political group, they will look at that. It will look at social conditions. If they cannot decide, they simply move on to someone else. There are a lot of people in the refugee system globally who would like to leave their country, not necessarily to come to the u. S. The u. S. Is a destination historically for 70,000 people. That is proposed to be amped up. They are looking to bring and 85,000 people and 10,000 syrians. With the Syrian Refugees population, there is an extra layer. It is this whole menagerie of toa they can collect determine, you said you were in the city at this time, and federal bombs went off, and you fled. If they can determine that happened, that is step one. If that did not happen, something is wrong, and they go that way. Host the refugees from syria already go through and next to layer of vetting under the Current System . Guest they do. Host how long does the application process take . Speak in, 1820 four months. For syrians, on average, three years. There are people who have gone through faster. A colleague of mine spoke to people who had gone through one yearone year and a half. On average, it is three years. Host what to be know about the refugee population in the u. S. , both broadly speaking, and the syrian population . Are notndividual stats available. What we know from the administration, in terms of the 2500 syrians who have been accepted in the last few years, split men andual women. 2 are military aged single males. About 50 children, or 40 tell me if im getting myself stats wrong about 60 percent older. We want to hear from you as well. You can join the conversation. If you have a question for Alicia Caldwell from ap, you can call. Democrats, 202 7488000. Republicans, 202 7488001. Independents, 202 7458002. We have opened up a special line the segment for refugees, whether recent, or if you have been in this country for a while, you can call on that line, and let us know your experience. That line is 202 7488003. Of course, we are on social media. You can send us a tweet, cspanwj. You can find us on facebook, facebook. Com cspan. Or, send us an email, journal cspan. Org. Kenny tells a little bit about the house bill that was passed earlier this week, and how that might affect the vetting process for refugees from syria or other places . Guest it is focusing specifically on syria and iraq, populations where we see people seeking refuge, not just in the United States, but this would put it on hold until they ramp up the system where the director of the fbi, officials at the department of Homeland Security, and others would individually specified that the refugees do not pose a threat to Homeland Security or National Security. The fbi director has said this is a really high bar that is potentially impossible to meet. Critics have said, this is a bar that cannot be met. Potentially, if it goes through, is a shutdown of processing of syrian and iraqi refugees, at least for a time being. It is difficult to say the effect it would have on the rest of the refugee population that is invited to come to the United States. For syrians and iraqis, it would almost certainly shut it down, at least for some period of time. Host is there a Legal Definition of what is a refugee and who can apply under Refugee Status . Guest there is. It starts with you and High Commission on refugees, generallys aching. People are referred or apply themselves to the unhcr. Claims fall in five broad categories persecution for religion, political affiliation i forget the others. Then, people are referred to a variety of countries, including, of course, the United States. Some refugees have applied directly through the u. S. A Nongovernmental Agency that refers them to the refugee process. In some cases, people who have a relative in the United States, be it a refugee, and asylum grantee, or someone else, they can apply directly, but generally, it is the process through the u. N. You have to specify that you are being persecuted for one of these five categories. You have to also show that the government is unable or unwilling to protect you. Host your home government . Guest your home government. The same process for asylumseekers, the big difference is asylumseekers butve at the border, Central American families are not defined as refugees. We often accept them as refugees, but it is different. Those folks who apply for asylum are arriving on the shores. Either they cross the border illegally and are apprehended, or present themselves at a port of entry, as syrian nationals did this week in texas. We are uncertain of whether statusis what their is. Forou are applying asylum, you are here. You were not invited, so to speak. In some cases, that means you will be detained in an immigration facility, and you will either be granted asylum, or not. That process could take many years. As we know, the Immigration Court system is quite backlogged. In the refugee process, you are far from the u. S. Shores. In fact, to be refugee, you have to be outside the United States. That process is a similar path, but legally defined, it is different. , almostase of syrians exclusively, the Syrian Refugees being brought to the United States, are not in syria any longer. They are in refugee processing outside the country in lebanon, jordan, and so on. Host we will turn to the phone lines with jerry from new york on the independent line. Good morning to you. Caller this is kind of a crossover from your last segment into the segment here. I do not understand why our government is not doing a swap refugees think where they take these sleeper cells where they already know where they are and who they are, and they are obviously people who do not want to live in this country, why dont we just take them people who do not like our laws and swap them for the Syrian Refugees or whoever wants to live in our country and follow our laws . I will wait for your response. It is kind of a complicated question to answer insomuch as you cant really swap people. I know what jerry is asking, but politically, it is complicated. What i think he is referring to in socalled sleeper cells that is kind of beyond my wheelhouse of knowledge the u. S. Has had people travel to syria and come back. I believe the number was somewhere in the ballpark of 250 who have returned. Those people are being monitored. We are being told by the fbi and other authorities. If you are a u. S. Citizen, we cannot deport you, essentially, which is i think at the root of jerrys suggestion. CanUnited States government pursue a criminal case, depending on the circumstances, but a oneforone, i dont think would be legal, particularly if you are a u. S. Citizen. The idea that you could be given the boot from the country is not possible. Host next up is elizabeth from fort lauderdale, florida. Go ahead. Caller yes. Is that me . Host that is you, elizabeth. Caller i have been listening from the beginning of the show. I could not get in on the first , please dot maam not cut me off right away. And about called in 30 years. Host go ahead with your question. People most people that call into the show are feeling hate and are irrational. Hate, and they are irrational, and most of the show seems to think to be derogatory about our president , and you do not take no initiative to cute these ignorant, irrational people off. Let people make common sense and say things that we can understand and comprehend. Makesa little longer that sense, and maybe we can learn something as a people, but to sit there and let all these ignorant, hateful, irrational people just speew all that hate has made me so sick. I have been watching since the 1970s since brian lamb was on, and i just cannot take it anymore. Host all right, elizabeth in fort lauderdale, florida. We move on to james in maryland who is a refugee. James, tell us about your experience. Caller yes, i am james from liberia, west africa. Whenmember of the the former rebel leader was in power. He had no tolerance at all for opposition views. And i was targeted. So when i was invited to the United States before the end, a had come tofficial visit, and i had my visa open, ready to be used. I made use of that and came to america as a refugee for political asylum. I aree, my children and very grateful to the American People for their goodwill. I want to urge the american while notbe good closing the door but giving a middle ground. Our security and protection is very important to wish is not close the doors on those who are in need while not giving into our security concerns. Host james, how long did the process take you, the application process take you . Caller it took me about a year when ihrough, however, got derivative asylum status that is when you get qualified you are allowed to send for your wife and children. For them, it is much shorter than that. It is much longer for others. Host that is james from maryland. We are talking with Alicia Caldwell, a Homeland Security reporter for the ap. Something james might have arrived as an Asylum Seeker, which is a similar path, but the big difference is in the country, not in the country. It is a very similar processing. Has accepted refugees and asylumseekers from all over the world, and it is about 70,000 on average, that if from thennually global population. Accepting refugees is not something new. The refugee act of 1980 establish the parameters by which refugees would be accepted. This was the end of the vietnam war, the arrival of asians from cambodia and so on. The refugee act sort of set a little bit of ground rules. People could consult with the states, not get permission from the states, but it is certainly a consultation, and place folks as available across the country. Host what if that relationship like between the federal government and the states in terms of determining where these refugees will resettle . Obviously we heard this week from a number of governors who felt they did not want to accept any. Refugeehere is a coordinator in each state, and the federal agencies or the contact agencies there are nine Refugee Resettlement agencies that contract with the federal government to place individuals who have been granted Refugee Status. When those folks consult with the state, it is are there Jobs Available . Is there Housing Available . Are social Services Available . Meaning language classes, cultural immersion, etc. If they place a family of five and another large group of 15 in topeka, kansas, for instance, they consult with authorities in kansas, and they say well, we just had a factory shutdown or the schools are little crowded right now, we had to shut down this english Language Program because of these reasons. They might say ok, lets pick a different spot either in kansas or elsewhere, where perhaps these resources are available. Again, you want these folks to have a chance to find a job. You are required to find a job if you are of working age and ability. You do not want them in a community where there will not be resources of language and cultural immersion and so on. They are fairly choosy in selecting these communities. In the past, california has said we have no more space for new cases, the socalled free cases of individuals who do not have family members in that particular area. Could you possibly place somebody elsewhere with the idea that family reunification continues in california . The aid agencies have certainly, i am told, acquiesced to that. Now, saying no, we absolutely do not want refugees is a different situation. There is no Legal Authority to block refugees once admitted to the United States. A refugee is a legally authorized immigrant in the United States could once you are admitted into the United States, you can move about the country as well. If you are placed in new york and you decided simply to cold or not an environment you like him a you can move to tennessee if you like, you can move tucson, albuquerque, anywhere you want to go, but as we saw in indianapolis this week, governor mike pence has described what he says is a shutdown of refugees acceptance into the states, and the aid Agency Working with the family, they are working family to connecticut. Obviously political powers different than potentially legal power. But the family was moved over to connecticut, the governor of connecticut was at the airport to welcome these folks. That happened. We are told by legal experts in the aid agencies that there is no Legal Authority. The federaly government again with cooperation. Nobody wants to end up in a place where they are not wanted. From next up is built lubbock, texas on our republican line. Go ahead with your question or comment. That flowchartg of percentages, two questions first, it showed 60 with children, and i know the other one that caught my attention was 2 of fighting age. The children, what are they considering the age of children, and what are they considering fighting age . I believe children are under 18, and fighting age, it varies depending on who you talk to. But 18 to mid 50s or so. That age group is going to vary dramatically the putting on who you talk to. Into their 60s and so on, but children are generally defined as under 18. These kids are traveling with their families, so theyre talking largely families, a mom and dad potentially with their children. Sheila from san diego, california on an independent line. You are a refugee. Tell us about your experience. Sheila, are you there . Caller yes, im sorry, i muted myself. Host that is ok. I actually have political asylum i was not a refugee. The whole process to me took six years. I went through a background check multiple times. I went through an fbi background prior to being granted asylum, and after being granted asylum, then i applied for my citizenship. I certainly understand why people are afraid, but i think am in my 50s, now, and when this happened, i was much younger. I have been grateful to this country for giving me a safe haven for me to live my life. Degrees,d two graduate and ive worked more than 30 years, so i have try to contribute as much as i can and every day to do so. I think it is to me, it was one of the most wonderful features of this country that it gives people that chance and that opportunity. People in spite of all the terrorism, fear that we all people who usually apply for Refugee Status or asylum are usually victims of this type of terrorism themselves. So i would hope that people in this country do not close their and for this country to be the shining city on the hill. Thank you. Host all right, that is sheila from san diego, california. Guest that is typical, six years. Know if she met six years from the time she was granted asylum to the citizenship because what happens asylum or refugee after a what isu apply for called status. You get a green card. For refugees, it is required. At a year, you change your status, and once you have a green card, you can apply to be a citizen at the end of five years, so that is a total of six years. It is not the easiest process, as she described. Are there more difficult circumstances in life . Certainly. But again, these are individuals by and large who are persecuted. And again, the threshold persecution for one of those broad categories of special membership and so on. Path,not the easiest particularly if you are arriving at the border now. That could be a port of entry at an airport, the southern border, northern border, what have you, and asking for refuge, asking for asylum, that is a completely different process. And again, you may in fact be limbo statusin a waiting for a Court Hearing or a file determination for several years because the court system is so backlogged. As opposed to if you are a refugee and the government proactively is doing these background checks and so on and gives a stamp of approval, if you will. Upon arrival, you have this status or you have work authorization, you are required to register with the Social Security administration and get your life started and moveon beyond the refugee process. At the end of the year, generally speaking it is over in terms of benefits and so on, there is some leeway for the infirm, the elderly, and so on, but in one year, you are moving on, youve started the process of becoming a citizen potentially. Host what is the concern over the potential holds in the vetting process . There are reports of some of the people who might have been behind paris attack using fake documents, impersonating a refugee, if you want to put it that way. Are there concerns about pieces of the vetting process that we are not able to really pen down pin down or parts of their background that we cannot validate . Guest certainly there are concerns about holding. Have fledpeople who their country, and it is not as if any Administration Consent regimell up the assad and say, can i see your database of local crimes . That simply does not exist right now. We do not know what we do not know essentially, so you have to do a lot more work in determining what is what somebody is telling you the truth . So with fake passports, with the question of where did some of the paris attackers originate no one has been identified as having been anything other than a european president. That said, there are people unidentified at this stage, so with the fake or stolen, potentially, passports, that is greece coming in through , up into europe, and making their way into western europe. That is a completely different process than getting to the United States. So again, if you are pursuing the refugee path, you are one in more than one Million People at this point, multiple millions of people potentially playing for Refugee Status with you and unhrc. I hate to be glib about it, but you go into a lottery essentially. You are hoping that someone picks you to come to their country, and the volume of people that the u. S. Is selecting from that particular region is really small and the even scheme of things, 70,000. Yes, there are 10,000 more spots. Theyre still talking about a really significant gamble. It is a heck of a lot easier to either recruit somebody who is already in the United States, be it a u. S. Citizen host in terms of recruiting to the terrorist network. Guest right. Or if you are trying to smuggle someone in or get somebody into the country who shares your ideology and is willing to participate, a western passport holder. Host usa today had this report what is the concern, and how is this being addressed in terms of people who might have gone to mexico and are coming up through that way, not through a formal refugee process . Get tothat is where we the potential asylum process or look at the geography here syria to the americas. Not to be glib, but you have got getly, generally speaking, to mexico, perhaps he fly into south america, we saw earlier this week five individuals were arrested in colombia, i believe honduras, me, under believed to be carrying stolen greek passports. The perceived intention was that these individuals were going to head to the u. S. Border overland. It is a very common route. The security question is will the u. S. Catch them . So far, what has happened that we know of is the group of eight in texas, they actually presented at the u. S. Border, which means very specifically they walked up to the u. S. Border in laredo on the designed bridge at the port of entry and presented themselves the presumption as they are seeking asylum. The government has not said so, but some of that information is maintained as privacy information, so we do not know exactly what their status is, but they did not try to sneak across the border. They were not arrested in a group of migrants they went to the port host and they announced themselves. Guest they said here is who we are, help us presumably. They are in a new process, a detained Asylum Seeker process, which the process there is they will have a credible interview, do their claims have any basic merit . Then they will go beyond that. That will include medical checks, background checks, all of the extensive check that the u. S. Government is doing on the ground in the region will now be applied to these individuals. Host we will turn out to the fund might, orchard park, new york. Gary is calling on the we will turn out to the phone line, orchard park, new york. Gary is calling on the democratic line. Aware youre probably that this massive problem with Syrian Refugees could be laid at the doorstep of washingtons policy. When we decided as a policy of the United States that there must be regime change in syria to take out an elected, sovereign government, then arm and encourage the sunni element in syria to rebel, that created a vacuum that brought in isis and not only 200,000 people lost their lives, but it created this massive refugee problem. Having said that, miss caldwell, i am told that it will be a year or a year and a half before we start admitting any refugees. Isnt it possible that with all countries getting together, if warolve the syrian civil and eliminate isis from syria, there will be no need to bring any refugees here. We could send them back to their homeland that has now been pacified. A couple things one, the year and a half im not sure where that number comes from. Arriving infugees small numbers in the United States right now. Again, a family arrived in connecticut this week after being diverted from indiana. In terms of the war, the war has been going on since 2011, the civil war in syria. This is a little bit beyond my ifelhouse, but presumably the situation stabilized, people were able to return home, that certainly would be a different situation for europe and the United States. In terms of why the u. S. Has steppingp or proposed up its acceptance of refugees we all saw a couple of months ago picture of a young boy wash up on a beach in greece. That sort of move globally the effort to accept refugees, and the u. S. Announced shortly thereafter, the Obama Administration did, to accept about 10,000 additional Syrian Refugees on top of the normal 70,000. Theyctually, the number propose is about 85,000, which is the bulk of the expansion coming from syria. Will that change conditions . Almost certainly. Country conditions change and you are no longer considered a population at risk, and certainly people could apply for Refugee Status, and certainly people can apply for asylum status, and those will be handled on individual bases. It is reasonable to assume country conditions change, the isis is eliminated or goes home i do not think that will happen that they will go home, but certainly if there is nobody trying to blow you up, you might not need to leave your home and aleppo. Centerhe Pure Research has a chart on the number of refugees and refugees according to the percentage of the population. Lebanon takes in the most. Jordan texan 8. 2 , sweden is at the bottom of the list of the countries they have listed taking an 1. 5 . These are the top 10 countries based on 2014 data. Janice from independent, missouri is on a republican line. Caller hi. I have two questions. I know that jordan has taken a massive amount of people over the years, and what i heard on the news yesterday was that none of these hordes that we see on tv of all these young men in europe for coming here they are already in europe on the so they are supposed to stay there. The people that would be coming to the United States will be the people in the tent cities in jordan where they have been for a couple of years, so we already have some history on the because jordan is doing the vetting. And those are the people. I was not quite sure if i understood that they do have sponsors. Is that possible . Have one other quick point i want to make about the tsarnaev brothers because they were refugees. What really makes me mad is that the russians warned us about them three times, and we did nothing about it. Host that is janice from independence, missouri. Guest i will start with boston terrier with the tsarnaev brothers, there is a little bit of a misconception. They were not refugees. They arrived initially on visas, these this, and their father was granted asylum. He had arrived on a tourist visa, applied for asylum. In terms of warnings and so on, a little bit beyond my wheelhouse. I would hate to miss speak on that. As far as people coming into the United States, janice is right. The groups we see taking into boats and then overland into europe are not coming into the United States. Aose are individuals who for variety of reasons have decided this is the path they are going refuge. To seek that is an entirely different situation than those who are being invited to the United States. Unhcrou have left the process, if you have started it, you are where you are, if you will. The majority in turkey, and lebanon, are going through the but gently with the end process potentially with the end being in the United States. What we see at the news every night, masses at the Macedonian Border and so on, different groups coming to the United States, that is a pretty significant difference to know that we are talking about two fairly distinct populations. Even though they seem similar, and there is a great concern of could this happen, could somebody go through this and end up in the United States . Almost certainly not again unless you have a western passport, and that it is a different question of travel and so on. Host 2500 Syrian Refugees have been accepted into the u. S. Since 2011. Half our children. Aare age 16 in6 an love. The question from twitter what would you have to find out about someone to exclude them from the u. S. . Guest if you are in a u. S. Government or intelligence ,atabase or have ties to terror i cannot think of all the names of the databases they are all i willms, so not go into of the best soup, but if you are in one of those databases, you will probably not be granted admission to the United States. There have in the past been to a two individuals in the United States who were taken to bowling green, kentucky, and later arrested for plotting to send missiles and other items to iraq. It was determined after the arrest that they had light on their applications and actually had been working against u. S. Interests and plotting against u. S. Interests in iraq prior to coming into the United States. Once that was discovered, that project was halted for almost a year. Host when was this case . Guest the arrest was in 2011. It is being held up as a potential risk factor it has happened once. Could it happen again . That is certainly the concern among Law Enforcement, among the intelligence community. If your fingerprint is in a database from having set off an ied or being suspected of having set up an ied in iraq, for instance, we do have a lot of ground intelligence, almost certainly you will not be granted admission into the United States. That said the copy yet is it eat ised once the cav that happened once. But again, you do not know what you do not know, and if you have never been caught, if you will, doing something the ferry is, how do we know you will not do nefarious th again . A lot of it is intelligence gathering that im not privy to. Vet to the highest level. And one thing people have pointed out to me as we do not have to accept you as a refugee. We have a massive population from which we can choose. Look at my data file, and if looks credible, we cannot y, z, we arey x, going to move on. I may not ever know what the process was, if i was rejected, if i was selected. It is a very sort of nebulous process. We do not have to take anybody if we do not want to. Host joan from rockville, maryland is next on the infinite line. Go ahead. You are on the air. Caller good morning. Former besser to the u. N. John syrianstated that the refugees do not comport with the definition of refugees in the u. S. Code. They are people in a civil war. They my phone is ringing. [laughs] they were safe, they were in camps, they decided they want a better life for their family, so they want to come to the United States for a better life. That to me is an economic migrant. Host that is joan from rockville, maryland. And again, to let yall know that there is a definition of who is a refugee on the United Nations page with their whole definition out of the 1951 that included who is a refugee, who is an Asylum Seeker, etc. Guest again, i am not the legal expert. Im not a member of the government, but there is a wellestablished set of parameters. Meeture determined to those parameters, you could potentially be granted Refugee Status in the United States. Again no guarantee. Is wellprocess that sought by millions of people and well assigned by the u. S. Government and of course the u. N. Standards as well. For this last caller segment will be nancy from hilton, ohio. Go ahead. Caller yes, miss caldwell, why should europe and the United States take in thousands of syrian and iraqi refugees when rich muslim countries like saudi kuwait, United Arab Emirates have not taken any of the refugees . Europe i do not know if they are better off economically and financially than the United States, but we are not financially welloff. We cannot even take care of our veterans here. Host all right, we have to leave it there because we are running out of time, but Alicia Caldwell, i will let you have the last word. Guest i do not know. Im not in the position to put a value judgment on what the United States or europe should do in terms of accepting refugees. The u. S. Has set the standard according to the refugee act of 1980. It has fluctuated mildly, but it has been 70,000 the last several years in terms of global refugees. That is a standard the u. S. Decided on long before i started covering this issue. The country has a history of accepting refugees. Vietnam,e go back to cambodia, laos. Up to one million that number theow, im estimating in 1990s, in larger numbers, so certainly there is a history of accepting refugees. In terms of europe, again, i cannot speak to the Geopolitical Impact of that, but there are people arriving on their shores, so a certain stage, i suppose the question then what you do with them, much like our southern borders, when somebody arrives, they are here. What do you do now . And then there are legal processes. It can be admissible and so on. Right now with europe, it is a tidal wave of people, so again unfortunately i cannot speak to countrysome thirdparty in the middle east or elsewhere should or should not take refugees. Host Alicia Caldwell, Homeland Security reporter for the ap, we appreciate your time this morning. Guest thank you host . Up next, bill frelick about how the u. S. And other countries are resettle. Fugees reset o later, Benjamin Haddad of the Hudson Institute will talk about france. We will be right back. Another act of terrorism that we seem to one after another after another. Is in thehallenge problem is the United States does not have a strategy. The administration does not have a strategy. They refuse to engage in the situation where we defeat isis and stop terrorism. This weeke house did was to say because the Homeland Security secretary and because the director of the fbi said we are not able to be certain that folks coming in in the Refugee Program are actually coming here and not having any association with terrorist groups they are not able to say that. Since they are not able to say that, they ought to cause the program or stop the program right now and put it on a posture of making certain that they are able to vet these individuals. That is what these people are clamoring for. Obama said he will veto. What will be the next house step . You need to ask yourself is what doesnt mean when the president vetoes a piece of legislation that is solely for the abyss of protecting the American People for the purpose of protecting the American People . It is a very troubling times your i call on the president as all of our conference does to recognize the concern that the American People have about this issue. This is not childs play. This is a very serious issue, and to have the president say, even though in spite of his Homeland Security secretary saying that they are not able to appropriately vet these individuals, that is not the republican conference of the house, that is not republican senators, that is not republican governors, that is his Homeland Security secretary. That the president would listen to that and continue to allow people into this nation that he cannot with any degree of certainty know that they do not have passed ties to terrorism, this is a very troubling event. Washington journal continues. Host our guest now is bill frelick, the Refugee Rights Program Director of human rights watch. Sp areou for being with we talked in a previous segment about the vetting process from can you tal. Can you talk about how it compares to others in the world . Guest one to thing about United States as we have a good publicprivate partnership, so much of the heavy lifting is done by communitybased groups, a lot of faithbased services, immigrant aid society, and secular organizations as well as the International Rescue meetttee, that come, people at the airport, taken to the grocery store, help them to oriented, and very carefully it is called case management, try to find out what the skills that is of each skill set is of each refugee, and work hard. There is a strong incentive to make sure that refugees become independent, are able to support themselves and contribute to the community. It has worked for a well. I mean, the system took off at the end of the the and him or war period. It is a system that is tried is true, it has worked for a number of years. Second, third generations now that are american citizens, and they are fully integrated into the United States. Host a couple of questions we had over twitter in via email that do not get into the previous segment, but what is safety net orblic Public Services that refugees can take advantage of or use once they are in the country . Guest there are particular federally funded transitional assistance that helped with the reception of refugees in the first month that they are here in the country. And then as i said, the incentive is to get them on their feet and to get them working as quickly as possible. There are various incentives with matching grants and that sort of thing for even the bulk of the work is really fromibutions communitybased organizations, volunteers, probably well over half of the costs are really important by the private sector, by volunteers that want to help refugees, and get them started, get them integrated into life in this country. Let me ask a question that was carried over from the last segment because the caller asked the reporter why should the u. S. Except any refugees at all . Buy anyot obligated to Legal Authority i do not believe, so what is the case for allowing Syrian Refugees and refugees from other countries to come to the u. S. . Is absolutelyler right. There is no obligation whatsoever. This is a choice of the United States makes to bring refugees to this country. Part of this is based on tradition during the founding pilgrims that came first in this country were escaping religious persecution as part of the tradition of the u. S. That has continued for years and years. Memories of the holocaust, for example, the turning away of jews, the famous case of the boat that was turned back and people ended up dying in the nazi death camps. War is a good indication of refugees, many who became refugees as a consequence of u. S. Foreignpolicy initiatives. But also, the u. S. Is a world inyer, if you will, involved helping assist other countries where there are outflows. In this case, providing support to turkey, jordan, lebanon, which are actually bearing the with 98 of the Syrian Refugees or meaning in that region even today. Over 4 million refugees that are there. So the United States is trying to figure out ways to not destabilize those countries and to provide to them both financially and very modestly with Refugee Resettlement. So it is a combination of factors, and it is a calculation. It is involved with an annual consultation between congress and the administration, which sets the annual numbers of , and then ary year determination within that number. Language in that statute, special unitary and concern to the United States. Special humanitarian concern to the United States. Maybe they were involved in american initiatives, iraqi refugees, afghan refugees, are in this country of people who are persecuted because they were helping u. S. Forces and u. S. Civilians that were working in iraq and afghanistan. Host we will open up the phone minds to as well for your questions and your comments for bill frelick, who works with human rights watch. Democrats, 202 7488000, republicans, 202 7488001, independents, 202 7488002. We also have our special line for refugees open, and that is 202 7488003. You can also send us a tweet cspanwj, or you can send us an email at journal cspan. Org. Republican trey gowdy spoke in favor of changing the vetting process for Syrian Refugees. Here is what he had to say. [video clip] gowdy this is a fact they may use our refugees status to enter the country. And mr. Speaker, the margin for error is zero, and the presumption should always be in favor of National Security because that is the preeminent role of governors, and it is of governments, and it is our constitutional duty that in less we can provide the necessary assurances, we should seek to aid those who need a where they are. In conclusion, mr. Speaker, the president says we are scared of widows and orphans. That is what passes for debate this day and age. With all due respect to the president s, what we are really afraid of, mr. Speaker, as a Foreign Policy that produces so many widows and orphans. Chief,he commander in mr. Speaker. His job is to make our home safer. He can also make the homeland of the refugees safer. He can restore order to the region, and he can defeat that jv team that he wants that he had contained. That would be the best thing he could do. Host we are talking with bill frelick from human rights watch. Talk a little bit about this bill that passed the house earlier this week that would change the vetting process for Syrian Refugees. What impact would that have on the refugee process, and what other types of reactions are you seeing around the globe, france, innd particular from folks who are concerned about the large number of migrants that are coming into their borders . Guest first, the last part of your question first, france has reiterated its commitment to take 30,000 asylumseekers this year that are people that are coming into greece that would be allocated among the eu member states. Despiteically said no, the paris attacks and everything else, we are committed to this as a question of burden sharing with our European Union colleagues, and they are continuing, i think it is thewhere around 2500, number of refugees that they are committed to taking from the asps in turkey, from jordan resettlement issues. And its commitment to helping refugees and recognizing that refugees are not the perpetrators of these attacks. Bill andof the house , essentially it byld require a certification the head of the department of Homeland Security, the head of im not sure if it is the secretary of state, but it is a certification process for some of the hea of the various agenciesd. It looks to me the way it is written it will just paralyze the system and just the way the functions here in the United States. What we have in the united haves and particularly since 9 11, since the major terrorist attack here in the United States, is a system of very careful vetting that involves already the National Intelligence center, the department of Homeland Security, which of course its prime mission, as you know from the name, is Homeland Security. They are the ones with determining Refugee Status deformatio. The main checks go through all the various databases, they go through the fbi, through the intelligence, counterterrorism center, and the state department is also involved and engaged in determining which refugees even give interviews. Before that even takes place, unhcr, the yuan high , thatsioner for refugees is all the potential resettlement claims and only refers those to the United States that they think are a match for that special humanitarian concern for the United States. Unhcr haserson that that it, they have also done the full determination status they would take out anyone with a criminal background or anyone who would appear to be any sort of a threat. So this system has been in place. It has been in place in one manner or another for the last 40 years, but the enhanced security advisory opinions when into effect particularly with respect to iraqis, and now they apply to all nationalities within certain even regarding to the Geographic Area of which they are applying . Guest exactly. Host edith from arkansas the democratic line. Go ahead. Caller yes, thank you for taking my call. My comment is that i am outraged. Can you hear me . Host we can hear you. Go ahead. Caller i am outraged that the elected officials and the republican candidates spewing out this inferior instead of them spewing out bravery to the people. That is not the kind of message we want to send to isis. If you are going to act like you are afraid, then that plays right into what they want. They want everybody to be afraid. Host all right. We move on to our next caller from virginia on the independent line. Go ahead. Caller hi. First of all, i think that 10,000 people sounds like a decent number to admit for this year or next year or whatever. However, i feel as if we are free have refugee camps in the United States and have had them for well over 100 years. We give them another name, they are called indian reservations letter very poorly taking care country since they wrote the treaties. And as far as this wonderful tradition of the pilgrims and cameious freedom they over and displaced people and kill people and moved people out of the way so they could impose their domination over people. Host ok, we will leave it there and keep the commerce asian focused on refugees from syria. We are talking with bill frelick who is the deputy Program Director for human rights watch. Go ahead. Guest the first caller who talked about fear actually made me think about franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt who at the , thereof world war ii certainly was a real threat from the nazis, he told the American People the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. I think it is an overstatement. There are other things out there , and terrorism is one of them, that is genuinely cause for some fear, but i think the point he is making and the point of the first caller made is that the terrorists want to create fear, they want to create polarization, they want to make you distrust refugees. The passport that was found there the body of one of the attackers in paris that that that attacker was posing as a refugee he was not a refugee. He was posing as a refugee and came in with that flow of people. And again, totally different than the resettlement system coming into the United States was a very careful vetting. This was a max influx of people coming across the border. That i think was done very intentionally. It was done to create a wedge of distrust, a wedge of hatred, to separate the Host Communities from the refugee communities, and in a way to basically send a message to the refugees, these ,re people fleeing from isis from syria, from iraq, and isis saying basically, you will be alienated when you go to europe. Do not think you will have welcome arms there. And plays into that narrative to react in this fearful way or to react with prejudice and hatred. That is exactly what the terrorists want to, wish. T cultural a simulation cultural assimilation, what has been the social impact of the large number of new entrants into some of these European Countries . Guest the wedge issue comes in here again. What isis has done and what it is trying to do, seeking to do particularly, where there are well income, disaffected muslim communities. They are trying to further alienate them, again drive this wedge in and create more alienation, which leads to radicalization. They actually want the homegrown terrorists to come up. Terrorists that we know about, the body that had the passport that was a fake passport. We do not actually know that persons identity. All the people involved, including the ringleader, they all had citizenship, they were belgium and french citizens. What they trying to do is drive a wedge between those minority groups within europe and the rest of the european community, response or at more inclusive response would be something that would defeat the aim of isis to create this division and a battle of civilizations, if you want to put it that way. Host next up is chris in washington on the democratic line. Go ahead. Caller i certainly want to thank mr. Frelick for pointing out the lengthy process that the iraqi refugees go through as well as afghans and the role that many of them played in our military action. I have a good friend who is here as an iraqi refugee. She is a military translator. Her brother was also a translator. Unfortunately, he was targeted for assisting the u. S. Forces over there and killed before they finished the paperwork to bring him over. That is just what i want to say. Host all right, chris from bellevue, washington with your experience. Guest i worked for human rights watch, and i had interpreters, and just the fact that they were working with an american, that they spoke english even was something that put their lives at risk. Interpreters afghan interpreters as well who has spent years waiting to be processed to come to the United States. Let me tell you about one guy that i just talked to about three weeks ago and is visible stanbul. He worked for the u. S. Consulate in ouurbil. Go into hiding. He worked for the u. S. Consulate, and he showed me the four letter that he got, the rejection. He apply for special immigrant visa, to work with u. S. Troops and the u. S. Government in afghanistan and iran, and a box was checked off that said your contribution was not important or valuable enough to qualify for this program. Of course the people who were targeting and did not know how it unimportant as work was in the eyes of the unite states. He fled into iraq, he fled into turkey, he used all his savings to buy greek guards to get them across the greek border. He was caught in bulgaria. Batons. T him with i saw the bruises on his arms. They push them back to greece, the greek guards took him, they stole his money, they stole his phone, and they push him back into turkey again. When i saw him in istanbul sitting on the square, and we talked for some time, he said i have got nothing less, i cannot return to iraq, i am devastated. And here is a person who worked for the United States to try to find a safe, legal, orderly process try to use the that is setup to help people who have helped the United States and have been persecuted as a result of that, and there he is sitting there, and he probably tried some way again to cross into europe because he is desperate to get out of that region and to get to a place that he feels he can be safe. Host can you tell us a little processt the different for people who are officially applying for Refugee Status and those people who are seeking asylum through other countries or through the u. S. As well . Guest sure. There are basically two processes. One is that people somehow cross the border, like the max influx, like the pictures we see coming out of europe. The Central Americans that have u. S. Mexico border, for example, and those are people who become present in the country and say, do not send me back, i am seeking asylum. Those are the Asylum Seekers, and there are actually more legal obligations because under youre notal law, allowed to return a person to a place where they would be persecuted. Have certain Due Process Rights to have their claim heard before they can be deported back to their home country. Them do bef deported. They do not qualify for one reason or another, and they are sent back. They also do very similar security vetting as they are being looked at. The other group of people, the group were talking about when we are talking about the 2000 syrians that have been admitted to the United States as refugees since 2011, a very small number relative to the 4 million refugees that are out there host Syrian Refugees. Guest that is right. The United States has taken 2000 since the beginning of the conflict, and the president is committed to taking 10,000 in the coming year. Slowt has been a very process so far, and whether he will even succeed in bringing them is questionable. It takes 18 months to 24 months, cases,rs, to vet the interviews, Health Screenings as well. So this happens overseas, all the vetting happens overseas, all the screenings happen overseas while the person waits in a refugee camp or weights in or waits in a settlement area of a city or Something Like that. And then when the person is chosen to be brought to the United States, they get a travel loan which they have to be bring to theto United States where they are received with the help of voluntary agencies here that help integrate them and to get them on their feet so that they can get jobs, so that they can pay back the travel loan, pay taxes, and contribute to american society. Eventually, after one year, adjust to lawful permanent status. After five years, they can apply for u. S. Citizen. Again, and each of those steps, if they have committed a crime, they will not be able. If they have lawful permanent resident status and they commit a crime, they are subject to deportation. So it is a very careful process all the way through. Host sam is in vermont on the independent line. Go ahead with your question or comment. Caller hi. We quoted fdr in saying we have nothing to fear but fear itself, and those words were live at that time. But the next day he said, all you japanese, head to the intern camp over here, we are going to round you up. This is where you were going to stay. I guess he had some fear there. Im just wondering, the people who are vetting these people overseas, bill, you must know the word guest yes. Caller it means what . Host we will leave it there. Go ahead. Guest at any rate, it is part of the culture. I do not think that bakshi is going to carry any weight with department of Homeland Securitys that are doing the interviews, or any weight with officials. Sure that no bad apples get through. And certainly with the respect to the japanese internment camp, i think everyone historically the thes one of real low points in it the way that the United States has treated minorities in this country. Very few people what an retrospect say that that very few people would in retrospect say that was the right thing to do. German citizens were not being interned, but japanese citizens were, so there is an element of racism that is hard to deny. Host tom is our next caller on the republican line. Tom, you are on the air. Caller hi. I had a question. My concern is Homeland Security. They were in charge of the tsarnaev boys, right . And they completely blew that one. What is to say they will not do this kind of screwup again . And now you are talking about ias situation with terrorists coming into new york city. Guest we are talking about the difference between a Refugee Resettlement and asylum. The cases counterterrorism centers, the fbi, department of Homeland Security. All of them setting those cases. This does not come through that process. Their family came, a young age at the time that happened, came on a tourist visa and apply for were here. They the father was the primary applicant for asylum. They were granted asylum. Other happened with homegrown terrorists like the young men in the terrorist in the paris attacks in belgium and mcveigh with the oklahoma bombing, for someone to turn to terrorism is something that can happen over a period of time with alienation that isis is trying to drive in and create alienated youth that will turn to violence and extremism. Tsarnaevt that the brothers, when they were children in chechnya were intending to come to United States to put together a crockpot and exploded during the Boston Marathon we will never know, but i think that is unlikely. I think that this is something that and idea they got there whatever alienation they were happening to them, it is hard to come and. I have no understanding, nor does anyone house, what was going on in their mind. I think in terms of vetting that, in terms of being a mind reader, there are no indications, no criminal history, nothing that you could have found that would have actionsd the terrorist that they ended up being involved in. Short of being able to read minds of people years in advance of when they commit an act, i dont know that you could call that a failure of intelligence or Law Enforcement. Host a few comments or twitter. We cant afford to care for people that we can afford to destroy the country or it another country tweets isis wins if we dont let refugees in. Democrat line, go ahead. Caller good morning. Concern of the present Republican Party is not the safety of americans. Guns have killed more people than 9 11 over and over again. Obamas number one concern is to keep us safe, but to keep our communities safe. Mississippi, your thoughts on these comments . I think that certainly the question of safety is something that no one dismisses. Organizations,ts the federal government, governors. Is not a question of opening the doors wide for everyone, closing it and shutting it entirely. I think that there needs to be an understanding of reasonable steps that are taken that are extensive, redundant, if you will. Go over and over the same thing to do interviews, multiple interviews with the same people with different agencies. Horrible that some mistake is not made. The other thing is that given the format of this program with the republican and democrat support for the Refugee Program in the United States has been absolutely bipartisan, nonpartisan from the very beginning until this week. It is really when you look at dovesetnam war, hawks and , a highly polarized country in the United States that people demonstrated on the streets. They were supporting the war. Refugees,me to the republicans, democrats, hawks, doubts, it didnt matter what side youre on with respect to the war itself. There was an absolute consensus of work to help vietnamese refugees and cambodian refugees, laotian refugees to bring them to this country, get them on their feet, and thank them for their having sacrificed what they had sacrificed as part of that Foreign Policy disaster. Since that time throughout, even after 9 11, george w. Bush said this is not a war against muslims, not against islam. He put in the security advisory opinions. He put in at hand enhanced procedures, but kept the Refugee Program going and was committed to keeping it going. Ronald reagan, the same, the first george bush, the same. This is a tradition that has never divided along partisan lines. Host why is this happening now . Guest it is heading during an election year, hitting at a time when certain president ial candidates are particularly a xena phobic message with respect to the usmexico border, for example. Though, to me, not wanting to minimize the fears that people have and that they have objective basis for fearing someone who would want to do harm to you and your family, they are exaggerating those for historical clinical benefit. We have seen historically to try to whip up a frenzy of some sort in order to score medical points. That doesnt just happen in the United States, in europe, as well. Monticello, minnesota on the republican line. Go ahead with your thoughts. Caller thank you for letting me call in. I think this gentleman has it all wrong. Matter if you are a republican or democrat. I am a republican. Wasel like a democrat really good, i would vote democrat. The reason why people are stepping back and looking at this and this administration should do the same thing is because we do not trust, and that is not our fault. We do not trust to is in there, who is vetting these people. We are christians. We would love to help. We always have. We are also giving we know our bibles and know that it says that you help first your family. That is christian. Help your family first. We see what is happening. Our families are nothing helps first read our christian neighbors and nonchristian neighbors are not being helped first. Lets help the people in the United States first. Lets make our country safe. Then, lets let people in. Lets let christians in. How come or not letting christians and . Only muslims . Talk about that. Host is that accurate . Guest no, it isnt. There is no religious witness test for being admitted to the United States. There never has been. If a person is persecuted on the basis of the religion, that is taken into effect that is a factor. If your persecuted because you are a christian as was the time during the soviet union, many know christians and soviet jews were brought into this country under this Settlement Program specifically because of religious persecution. There is no religious litmus test, nor should there be, to our compassion. One pope francis was visiting here, hes the seven we talked about welcoming strangers. He specifically talked. Faithaithbased, biblical , to basically say compassion should not be just for people who share your particular religion, but compassion should be for anyone whos suffering, anyone who is vulnerable, that is the way pope francis said his christianity should be expressed. Weatherford, texas, independent line, go ahead. I had a question, how many hitchhikers did you pick up last year . How many homeless to do bring into your home . You dont pick up hitchhikers for one reason. You know what they are like or you dont know what they are like. You want to bring in 10,000 hitchhikers that we know nothing about. The gentleman that called from naples, florida a while ago wanted to comment about what a hero mr. Obama is. The reason we have been safe is because of mr. Bush. We may have had wrong intelligence concerning Saddam Hussein and other weapons of mass destruction, but if that says anything, it is less lets trust our intelligence forces. Hussein, from texas. Guest the analogy of hitchhiking doesnt work at all. A hitchhiker is somebody that you know nothing about whatsoever. Standing on the side of the road. For everything that we have said, everything that we have laid out, it has nothing to do with the Refugee Resettlement process. These are people you spend two never lessge than 18 months, vetting these cases, the fbi check, the National Counterterrorism center, the interagency, the cia and all of the other intelligence agencies. The department of Homeland Security that conducts the interviews overseas. The department of Homeland Security does that. That doesnt even refer a case to the United States and less they think it is a case that the United States would most likely take. Out of 4 million Syrian Refugees , the u. N. High commissioner for refugees has referred only 19,000 to the u. S. , of which only 2000 have actually been admitted to this country so far. We are talking about a very slow, and veryy thorough process. If you think that is the same as picking up a hitchhiker, i dont know what more to tell you. Host can you tell us more about the allocation process by the u. N. . How do they determine which refugees to recommend to the country . Guest first, they make a Refugee Status determination. Does this person qualified under International Law as a refugee . A wellfounded fear of persecution, race, religion, nationality, social group, political opinion. Are there any exclusion considerations . As the person done anything that would cause problems . Security concerns . Then they look, do the people need a durable solution . In other words, the vast majority, 99 of the refugees are staying in the region where they are. 98 of the syrians are still in a region, jordan, lebanon, turkey. Whom staying in the country of first assignment is not an option because of their minority status, Health Concerns , some other connection, they then refer them to one of the countries that has agreed to take in refugees. That person with a particular country based, usually, on if there is any Family Connection to that country. Is there a relative that would help them get on their feet . Connection has a with the government of the country, do they work as an interpreter for a diplomat . Is it some other connection . In some cases, it may be a person that has a particular health concern, that that country is well prepared and has worked well on a disability, health concern, whatever it might be. There are some cases where there is no particular connection and they just say we need to displace this person and norway, sweden, part of international burden sharing, we have agreed to take so many refugees. We will take a person. Tom, westmore caller, hartford, connecticut, democratic line. Go ahead with your question. Caller i would like to know why , when the American Public in these politicians hear the words syria, it is so negative. People are not concerned about a terrorist getting into the United States at all. You can have the last word. Is i thinki can say there are legitimate and exaggerated fears. The fear of the Refugee Resettlement program i think has been start up in some ways. Red up by thetir terrorist attacks in the first ofce, wanting this kind reaction to drive a wedge appear and mistrust and hatred between religious ethnic groups. They dont make any demands. There are no demands. All they are trying to do is create this clash of civilizations. If that is allowed to happen, if you play into the narrative, if you play into that myth, divide people and dont look at their common humanity but look at their differences, we go down the wrong path. This really is a question of saying it will never be 100 risk free and anything we do in life. We need to be forthright,ourageous, compassionate express the values of humanity, of a universal civilization, and to basically say we will reach out for people who have lost their homes, whose bonds have hit, who have been threatened because they may have a minority religious base like the disease hazidis. Likel the we will protect these people because we know it is by the grace of god that they are alive. These are regular, normal people who just want a regular life. That is overwhelming. I have spoken with hundreds of refugees around the world. Jordan, thekey, soopean countries, bulgaria, on, interviewing people, talking to them. Overwhelmingly, i can tell you that these are people who are just like you and me, very normal people with normal aspirations or their children who just want to live in peace and be able to live in dignity as human beings. Host thank you so much for taking the time out this morning. Up, france is making a coalition to defeat isis, but how much helpful they receive . Benjamin haddad talks to us about that issue. We will be right back. The Radio Program back story with the American History guide, the university of virginia , andry Professor University of richmond professor discusses the 1950s film the birth of a nation, and its significance. American history tv, all weekend, every weekend on cspan3. Did i feel prepared . Yes. I did. I wasnt elected. It didnt make that much difference. I did notice the difference between being the Vice President s wife and the president s wife. It was huge. The Vice President s wife could say anything. Nobody cared. The minute you save one thing as president s wife, you make the news. That was a lesson i had to learn. During george h. W. Bushs presidency, barbara bush used the office to hold literacy, raise awareness about aids and hopelessness. She also earned her way into the history books by becoming only the second first lady beside avenel adams to be both the wife and mother of a president. This sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspans original series, first ladies, influence and image, examining the public and private lives of the women who filled the position of first lady. Their influence on the presidency. From Martha Washington to michelle obama. Sunday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3. Washington journal continues. Host we will be discussing frances attempts to build a coalition to defeat isis. Earlier this week, the french president appeared before parliament to condemn the attacks in his country. Here is what he had to say. France is at war. The acts committed on friday evening in paris were acts of war. Killedt 129 people were and many people were injured. It represents an attack of aggression against our country, against its values, against its youth, and against its way of life. Created by ane army of jihadists who are fighting france because it is a country of freedom. Because we are the country of the rights of man, of human rights. In this very serious period, i took the decision to speak to parliament, both houses of women in congress to market our National Unity in the face of this abominable act and to with cold determination to the horrible acts which targeted our country last friday. Host french president Francois Hollande calling the terrorist attacks in france an act of war. Were talking with benjamin at theearch fellow Hudson Institute. Thank you for joining us this one. We heard the french president calling the attacks and act of war. You wrote recently in Foreign Policy magazine that this is frances forever war. Guest france was already at war against terrorism before the attacks. Tax inas the shetty ha january. Month, there was an by theprevented clumsiness of the terrorist who shot himself in the attack any foot. There was a major attack on a highspeed train in amsterdam that was prevented by the bravery of american soldiers. We have been threatened over the last few months. The forever war because determined wars does not encompass the complexity of the challenges france faces. It is both domestic and foreign. The president said himself in front of the national assembly, these attacks were planned in syria, the center of gravity, the inspiration, magnet for these european fighters. They were organized in belgium and executed in france with homegrown complicity. It is one of the major challenges france faces. The regional issue of rice is rising in syria and iraq that has to be stopped. He will be in moscow and washington, d. C. To ramp up a coalition to find a real strategy to fight isis in the region. It has to go to a political transition. There is also the domestic dimension. That are0,000 people on the list of french indulgence for radical individuals. They are not all linked to syria, not all links to al qaeda. Prisons, thein internet. It is a complex thread. If you look at the previous terrorist attacks with Charlie Hebdo, the brothers who are the assassins of the staff, they had trained in yemen. He had not even trained in syria or yemen but have been radicalized in jail. In 2012, the terrorist to kill jewish kids and french soldiers have been radicalized in jail. This is a challenge that needs to be addressed in syria and iraq because it is, once again, the center of gravity. It encompasses a much broader threat all over europe. By the way, it is not only france but it is countries like belgium that have been very much certain neighborhoods have been very good radicalized. This necessitates a ramping up of Security Services hiring more intelligence agents, bringing Security Forces of europe up to speed to this rapidly increasing challenge. Host you mentioned the Charlie Hebdo attacks and other attacks that were reported over the last several months. Beginning to this radical movement in islam that has taken seed within france . Targetedance has been before. Eventually five, terrorist attacks in paris by groups linked to radicals. Had attacks protruded by perpetrated by hezbollah. This has been dramatically accelerated over the last few years. The French Intelligence Services of which were well prepared for have been overwhelmed as a german Prime Minister said, to cope with this accelerated threat. The french authorities have announced over the last year new recruits, who means, technological means. Have more to authority to read emails, gather metadata. The problem is it takes time, it takes time to train these people to give them the cultural knowledge, human intelligence to be able to infiltrate the networks, understand the nuances between the groups. We dont really have that time. Also, this is also why french authorities have tried to pressure over the last couple days their European Partners to also step up their efforts havest this the french been lonely in this fight in europe. Their military is overstretched. Not only are they fighting in the french front, but as they say, obviously, syria and iraq were the french have been involved in strikes along u. S. Know terry. You also have 3500 french soldiers we talked about molly yesterday. Li yesterday. Now, they are asking for both europeans and americans to step up their efforts to cooperate against terrorism. Host we want to let our viewers know they can join in on the conversation, as will. Democrat number is host 2027480 , republicans, 2027488001, independents, 2027488002. We are reading your tweet, they handle is at cspan wj, also find us on facebook or send us an email at seaspan. Org. Were talking to benjamin ha haddad, a Research Fellow at the Hudson Institute. Policy, the french president will be here in washington next week. What does he hope to achieve in his meeting with president obama . There has been a frustration of policymakers in the lack of involvement in the white house. If you are member three years ago after the lack the use of chemical weapons, the famous red line that was set right president obama, the french were ready to strike the syrians. The french president making some political risks to order his assad and tried to rebound the forces on the ground and force a political transition. The french authorities saw the only option down the road to eradicate isis and include moderate sunnis in the political government in syria. As we know, president obama changed his mind at the last minute and signed the deal alongside president putin. There has been a frustration that maybe this was not a central issue for the white house, the president obama mostly cared about not getting dragged into a new middle east war. I think, clearly, Francois Hollande wants the United States to take a leadership role on this crisis. That means ramping up strikes against isis in syria and iraq. Getting more involved in trying forces, maybecal with u. S. And European Forces embedded, but only for training and giving a framework. Local forces on the ground have to be local, they have to be sunnis from syria. Also fight the regime. Then push for a transition. The only other options that european has europeans have are now is turning to bottom or prudent. We dont share the same strategic objectives as Vladimir Putin in syria. First, most of the russian strikes have not targeted isis. In opposition to president assad. The russians are trying to a race any kind of difference between the radical opposition and the modern opposition. The real objective with the russian president is to shore up his allies that cannot be an option for europeans. I think it is critical for the United States to really step up enough for a better alternative than Vladimir Putin to european allies. Host how much will france and the u. S. Need russias help against isis . How much of an issue is the government of us are going to be and remain to be an issue is the government of assad . Guest an issue is the bombing it changes the situation for the russians. There is not much of allusion illusion in paris or washington that will changes focus against isis and finding a political solution in syria. To open aey will try dialogue with him and find a Common Ground with him. I dont have much illusion of this. Host turning to the phone lines were susan is going on the independent line from fort myers, florida. Susan is our first caller for the segment. Go ahead. Guest thank you for taking my call. Caller i am wondering no one who areoning boko haram just as lethal and committing heinous crimes. I am wondering, do you feel that eventually there is going to be uniting isis and boko haram . I think they need to be paid attention to, also. Thank you, i will take my answer off the line. Guest i think youre absolutely right. This is one of the reasons why i talked about this forever war. The intellectual center of gravity right now is in syria but it would be extremely easy to forget the other front such as africa. Yesterday, we water we were reminded of al qaeda in mali. This is why other countries need to step up. The french have called for the european allies to get involved. Also on the subsaharan african content, to relieve the french efforts and try to fight al qaeda, but also, boko haram. This clearly should not be overlooked. Frank, mchenry, illinois, republican line. Go ahead, youre on the air. Caller i have two questions and a comment. The gentleman just touched on it a little. I would like to know when the world is going to stand up and say we have had enough of your baloney. You cut it out or we are coming after you . Part, i trythe last to get through, i couldnt. I am asking a question. I have seen movies, men walking out of iraq, afghanistan, men walking out of syria. How come they are not defending their country and we are sending people into getting killed from the United States . Those are my comments. Guest for your first question, i agree. We have overlooked this thread. President obama has set a couple years ago that he compares the clearlyf isis he has underestimated the gravity and extent of the star. A couple of days before the attack against paris, he said isis was contained. If you count the beirut attack, the attack against the russian air jet, and the attack in paris, today, as we speak, brussels is in a state of emergency and people are encouraged to stay home because her is an imminent threat against brussels. Have they a stronghold in territory in syria and iraq, a difference with al qaeda before, they also have considerable resources. Estimated between one and 2 billion. They also have the ability to use localities around europe and the middle east to have strikes against citizens. This is clearly a direct threat that needs to be addressed. That leads me to your second question. You are absolutely right. This can only be solved by local forces on the ground. The problem in the middle east right now is that many of the countries that we would need as partners to fight against isis they see other threads as her main party. Aresunnis in saudi arabia focused against the fight against yemen. They care more about the influence of iran and the rising imperial influence of iran and its ally. Our saudi andhave qatari allies on board, more involved in the fight against isis, we have to show there will be a political solution in syria that does not involve assad, does not involve a regime that has in short up by hezbollah. That is one of the key priorities. Also, local forces. You need to train, to arm, to equip, fund local sunnis to be able to fight on the ground. Support, it has to be undertaken by them. What isis wants is to drag europeans, americans, westerners, kris jenners christians into a fight against a twisted view of isis. There have to be local forces that fight this. On the same mode of what was done in 2007 in iraq, focusing and relying on local tribes to bring this fight to radicals. Host going back to the question, what about the European Partners that france has been hoping to court and its fight against isis, the wall street journal recently had an article with this headline. French feel increasingly isolated. The french officials are frustrated with their European Partners as with as what they see as insufficient cooperation. Guest you set a privately. Host where is the rest of europe . Guest you said it perfectly. The french authorities have been vocal over the last few days saying, you need to step up. Thateans are realizing some of the vulnerabilities of europe, such as the border free area are being exploited by terrorists. We have two alternatives. Either we go back on these great successes of the European Union and each country, the national borders, packed in a selfish way, or we recognize that this is a european threat that is threatening european values, european citizens. The up as a con, as as a continent, as the European Union. Legislationece of that has been discussed for a , air flight Europe Companies would share the records of passengers with different countries, this way, was you have someone who the mastermind of the attacks was a belgian citizen, travels back to europe, was able to travel from syria to belgium and travel around. If he uses an airplane, other countries would know about it. Up second thing is to shore Border Control at the external borders of the European Union and have extended coronation over this. What is critical is to dramatically improve the cooperation of intelligence agencies. Inhave had major failures the transmission of information between services all over europe. Host turning to sparta, new jersey, where richard is calling on the democratic line. Go ahead. If you want to kill a week, pull it up by its roots. The roots of this problem is saudi arabia. They exploit a radical form of islam around the world. They have beheadings frequently. I dont see that much difference from what isis would be. Host richard from new jersey. Is saudi arabia the root of the problem . Guest some of the ideology of saudi arabia, wahhabism, the brand of radical islam, is, indeed, very influential to explain this radical ideology. This is why european leaders are also taking steps to try to fight the war of ideas and promote a more moderate islam and give them a stronger voice to moderates all over europe and there has been discussion in france the last couple of days of maybe expelling those who dont have a french citizenship and messages of hate and rooting out this ideology that is spreading in certain quarters. Ronald on the independent line, good morning to you. When he said the president to the line, his congress wasnt backing him. The coalition was not that big. Not everyone has a piece of the pie, Everyone Needs to get it in. Talking about the people on the ground fighting, the people on the ground what are you talking about fighting . We dont need boots, that is your job. Your group should get there and go fight. Host ronald from pennsylvania. Guest there was a coalition. European allies, the french authorities have strongly supported president obamas decision to strike a sides chemical facilities and get more involved in the conflict. Backing down from that redline sends a considerable message of a decisiveness, weakness that was later exploited. You have some expert to argue that russia would not have been so assertive and ukraine in the next crimea if they had not seen the signals sent by backing down from the redline before. If you draw a redline, it becomes a question of credibility for your own power to act upon it. We have lost such considerable time since then. This is considerably restraining our options to act in isis and syria. Host you said in your piece that france and village him and other European Countries have become greengrocer radicalization. Why these countries in particular . You have a recent immigrant population from the last decade, clearly the case in france and belgium. Lets be frank about it. There have been issues of discrimination, equality, in france and belgium, some of these immigrants are disenfranchised. You have a lack of education, Economic Opportunities that can expand frustration and resented. Mix a very small minority of people who turn radical and want to kill innocent people within the vast majority of the Muslim Population in france and belgium who go through other lives practicing moderat islam and to integrate and still suffer from a lack of opportunities. You have these integration issues that i dont think explain the whole picture but are certainly part of it. Another issue is you have so many vectors of radicalization for some of the most vulnerable meeting,rning for a violence. They can find these ideals on the internet, prisons very often. There is a mix of different that can explain this phenomenon. Lauderdale, florida, go ahead, democratic line. To the with respect commons you are making, youre taking them out of context. When the president said they were contained, he was referring to the fighting in iraq. Groupsnothing to do with around the country. Issue,ith the redline france and a lot of them are backing out. He went to congress because they didnt know exactly who it was they were fighting and giving arms too. And john mccain was there giving some of the arms to the wrong people. You have to keep these conversations in context. Their point,o make but it is taking things out of context with what is actually going on in this particular war. What the president was saying is the strategy is working. We are limiting their resources, containing their territory in syria and iraq. A strategy is working. We see today that the strategy is not working. They have the ability to strike even outside of their own territory. Question andt of debate about whether they are containing territory over there. The idea that the current strategy against isis is successful is, i think, wrong and has been proven wrong by the attacks of the last couple weeks. Redline, i actually dont think european allies were backing down or hesitant. I think the president did not want to get involved in another middle eastern war and he found a way out with the proposition from president putin to strike a deal on chemical weapons with a side. I think that is what happens. Europeans, like a lot of people in the United States learn about this when a president gave a press conference on television at the last in a. Next up is jeff from george on the independent line. Good morning. Caller hello. Let me tell you why the president didnt go to war. My son recently returned from afghanistan, an american soldier. Congress sequesters spending and shuts down the government. Nationalt sing the anthem like the france. They recited green eggs and ham by dr. Seuss. That is why my president did not do it. Thank you. Moving onto glen from lancaster, california on the independent line. Good morning. With our drone pilots, three quarters of them are women, we need to let isis no that the women are killing them because they think they go to hell instead of getting the virgins. Host we will have to leave that one there. Lorenzo, louisiana, democratic line, good morning to you. I cant understand when he mentions about assad they are response does responsible for all of this stuff. Why they take those people as refugees. I think assad has bought all of that if they can get countries to do their fighting for them, they are getting the money. I dont understand why you wont tell the truth. Host lorenzo from louisiana. On the refugee question, i think everyone should take responsibly over this unitarian disaster. That is not a reason for europeans or the United States to close their borders to refugees. We should be open and generous to people who are fleeing persecution, the repression of president assad and the violence of isis and radical groups. The french government, the German Government has repeated in the last couple days that they will still be open to accepting refugees. We still accept a large number of refugees. The french government has announced they will accept 30,000 refugees over the next year. Thatagree with your point a regional country, some countries like jordan and lebanon are taking a heavy burden for their economy in accepting very large numbers of refugees. Other countries that step up their efforts. Host i would like you to tell us about the social climate right now in france. You mentioned the commitment to continue taking in refugees even though the attacks were carried out and work painful to the french people. How are people feeling on the ground . Guest obviously, the atmosphere is one of morning mourning over the last week. The attacks go for hundred 30 people, most of them young between the age of 25, 35. It was a very popular neighborhood for young people to hang out on the evening. The concert venue. This struck at the heart of the paris spirit. , very typicalusic to the french. Saw a moving picture yesterday , friday evening, one week of these attacks, people wanted to go out. People went back to the bars that have been attacked for drinks to show their solidarity. There is a strong young of unity and solidarity. What is dangerous and worrying is that you have, at the same time, the rise of populist movements over europe. The far right movements like the National Front in france that are prospering on a message of xenophobia, exclusion, skepticism. It is a challenge for european leadership to at the same time promote integration, keep an open and inclusive message while and not these attacks fall into the trap of these populist leaders who are try to force us to close our borders with racist and xena phobic measures to fight. Host what are the social programs that have been enacted to help the cultural assimilation of migrants from syria or over a long period of immigrants moving into European Countries . Guest the refugees are just turning to arrive. I dont know what kind of measures they will take. Immigrants, people asking for asylum in france have access to all kinds of medical care for free, universal medical care in france. Access to education services. Other immigrants in this respect, i am sure they will announce measures to help them economically in the next month once they start arriving. The things the government has enacted to protect against discrimination against the islamic faith . Guest this has been an issue right on time in france. Hate speech is actually illegal in france. It is not like the United States. You can beat brought to court for racist statements, hate speech, discrimination, violence. There are still a lot of efforts to be made. There have been lots of different programs over the years, not all of them successful. Definitely, in terms of Education One of the measures for which he was elected in 2012, maybe thinking about some sort of program of affirmative action like some universities are starting to do in france, these are the issues that are still being debated. Ponds in paradise, california is up next, democratic line, go ahead. Hans. Caller we have failed to realize that the situation is sunni and shia. We have a regime change in the United States and gore versus bush. We had an appointed president. On his ranch in texas. What we are forgetting is the United States stands for a separation of church and state. It is not like europe. What needs to happen is the muslim nations and the muslim people need to have their own draft and get together and fight these radical groups that are adverse to peace and wellbeing to our planet. Thank you. Host let me note that there is very strong separation of church and state and European Countries. Guest it is a semishia divide. That is what i was saying earlier. The problem with our sunni allies in the at least iranian aggression they see as with the use of hezbollah, all over the region as their main threats the United States has to make clear to these partners that we need to fight radicals we will also contain and fight influence in syria which has become the main battleground for it. This is the reason why the only solution to fight isis is also to find a political solution that will integrate the sunnis and bring down the road of president assad. We need the locals, the sunnis to step up, fight against radicals. As we havetime, seen, the europeans and maybe in the United States, we cant act as if this is not a concern. As if it doesnt matter. With the wave of refugees, the increase in terrorism, the United States is concerned about the front in syria. Host what are the challenges that france and the u. S. Face . They try to identify the moderate groups in syria to train, fight against both isis and assad . Guest we have lost a lot of time. Itre was a reluctance to do because it is collocated because it is complicated. The white house did not want to get involved in a middle east where there could be a quagmire like the iraq war. Another thing is that one of the United States has been doing is the vetting process was extremely rigorous. Maybe too much. The forces were only allowed to fight isis, or as some of the time they wanted to focus are fighting against the side. I think we should have a more robust and Ambitious Program to fight these people, both have the courage to fight the kurds cant fight that much. They are not going to be able to govern their sunniarab areas beyond kurdistan. We need to find sunni tribes, sunni rebels that can fight both isis and assad. Arman,innesota, minnesota, democrat line, your thoughts . Caller isnt it true that isis was created by the United States government . True that it is not we were greeted by the unite States Government that they were critical unite States Government. It was initially linked to al qaeda, but it was so brutal, so savage and its methods in targeting she is, something that ,l qaeda in targeting shias something that al qaeda was displeased with, very graphic and its use of images on social networks, on its use of videos. Even al qaeda started taking distance from it. We got that al qaeda and iraq it reappeared without daddy, using a vacuum in the chaos in syria, the frustration that was left by the repression of assad to the strongholds in syria with its capital, rocca, but it has nothing to do with u. S. Support. It is a constant Conspiracy Theory that is fed by certain elements of suspicion, sometimes linked to russian propaganda. You find it a lot on social networks. It has nothing to do with reality. Host can you talk about the attacks in mali and a group that has greater spontaneity for those attacks . How they are connected to isis and the Islamic State . Guest we saw a surge of radicalism in the last two years in mali. Qaeda,s are linked to al they started moving north of mali and are directed north of the capital. Know,ave notably, as you destroyed historical artifacts , one of to timbuckto the Historical Places in mali. 600 radicals have been killed over the last couple of years. Obviously, not of the French Military they are active and present we dont know to what extent this attack was carried at as not necessarily response, but as a way to remind us that they are still active in this region, even after the attacks of isis against paris. We will know in the next few days how connected these attacks are. Clearly, it reminds us that we also have a threat in that region. Mali but in countries like libya that have been largely ungoverned since the withdrawal of forces after the intervention and gaddafi. Isis is controlling one of the harbor cities of libya. That expandsreat all over this region and continues these groups are not linked to each other. Boko haram, al qaeda, isis in libya and syria. It is a continuum of threats. Host the last caller for this program will be craig for massachusetts. Independent line. Good morning to you, craig, go ahead. Caller good morning. Would it be a Conspiracy Theory or not i think the oligarchs, ruling class, the. 1 , kearney capitalists, croney capitalists, whether it be right direct intervention or by a consequence of government action, it seems that when you bring to similar people and barriers and economic existing been between people, you bring them together, it causes a dissension, a dividing factor. This is to the advantage a good point in question is the white middle class in america. If you look at metrics around tom from mortality rates part of the working proportion of the people that are working, they are losing. The working class, the middle class, the upper middle class, and the poor as a base have been fractured and are kept down by ofs constant influx different people fighting amongst them selves. Host we have to leave it there. Thank you, final thoughts. React to what was said and come back to this issue, i think we cannot only make this ,uestion of economics discrimination, economic barriers, this is an issue in europe for economic barriers for immigrants. Children of immigrants. This is an issue of a small minority of people who are radicalized by groups who are trying to strike us. A very large majority of people suffering from economic barriers do not turn to radical groups. We should be externally forceful in not making any confusion between the vast majority of them, the small minority of radicals that fight. Morewill call for European Solidarity in terms of intelligence gathering, ramping up forces. We need to target this issue at its center, iran,