I have been a proud Republican for 22 years and I have never been more at odds with my party than I am on the issue of providing safe haven for Syrian refugees. America cannot shut its doors, no matter the cost. As a member of the U.S. military, who works in Washington DC, I think it’s safe to say I am high on the list of ISIL targets. Also, as a member of the Intelligence Community, I know the realities of an ISIL attack here in America. However, if our intent is the defeat of ISIL, then we must consider a strategy broader than bombs.
Consider a Syrian refugee’s worldview. Growing up under the anti-Western, authoritarian Assad regime they have been told the West hates them and the West is evil. ISIL has told them the West can’t be trusted and hates them and is evil. Now, times have forced them to flee, while Asada and ISIL tell them the only refuge is within the corrupt Syrian Government or with the “Islamic State”. Yet, against this tide of propaganda, thousands of Syrians are looking to the West for help. Whose message do we reinforce blocking Syrian refugees entry into the “great melting pot”?
Our response to their cries will do more to stem the tide of radical extremism than all the Predator, AC-130, and B1 strikes combined. I know: I have seen firsthand the results of extending a fist and extending an open hand. I have also seen the impact of leadership. The position of some Republican candidates, rejecting Syrian refugees, places them behind the team with a whip, not in front of the team helping us pull.
Look, I know you are scared. I am too. But, in this hour, we need a leader. America needs a leader who will say “I know you are scared. I am too… we are going to ensure the acceptance of Syrian refugees with the best checks and balances we have, but we have to help them, and in helping them we help America too.” America’s greatness is best demonstrated not by building a bigger wall but by building a longer table. I am not advocating America blindly accept Syrian refugees, but I think if the leadership could better explain the robust process we currently have in place to vet refugees some of our fears would be assuaged, not fanned. Let it not be lost on any of us that in six short weeks most of us will be watching our children on Thursday night act out a scene. Our hearts will weep a little, as they always do, when we hear them say, “…there was no room for them in the inn.” I urge you to take a few minutes, search within yourself, ignore the polling and fearful rhetoric. Ask yourself what is best for America strategically not just tactically.
source:/user/steve_rogers091