Midlands lawmakers wary of importing terrorism

Omaha World Herald
By Joseph Morton

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says American values mean not slamming the door on the thousands fleeing Syria’s violence and devastation, but Sen. Chuck Grassley sees it differently.

“He’s in denial,” Grassley said of Obama, speaking with The World-Herald on Tuesday.


The Iowa Republican is one of many Capitol Hill lawmakers citing security concerns in their push for at least a temporary suspension of the administration’s refugee resettlement program.

They point to previous statements by administration officials about gaps in the vetting process, as well as last week’s devastating terrorist attacks in Paris and indications by the Islamic State militants that they are looking to launch similar attacks against U.S. targets.

“You’ve got to look at what’s the possibility of a terrorist coming into our country — and that’s got to be the deciding factor,” Grassley said about the resettlement program.

Meanwhile, Obama is standing by his intention to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States next year. Administration officials are staging briefings with reporters, governors and members of Congress to highlight what they cast as a robust vetting process that examines all information available and involves agencies across the government’s entire national security machinery.

“The administration rejects the flawed view that we can’t ensure our own safety while also welcoming refugees desperately seeking their own safety,” said Amy Pope, one of Obama’s top security advisers, in a statement posted online. “The truth is: America can and must do both.”

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