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Ben Carson: The U.S. Must Not Accept Any Syrian Refugees

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Dr. Ben Carson is a retired neurosurgeon and honorary chairman of My Faith Votes.

The carnage in Paris last Friday reminded us all of the evil of Islamic extremism. President Barack Obama has promised to “bring these terrorists to justice.” Yet his administration appears altogether oblivious to the threat posed by an influx of refugees from war-torn Syria into the U.S. homeland. Furthermore, in the war against Islamic extremism, the President cannot even bring himself to confront the enemy by its name.

This Monday, I sent letters to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan urging Congress to terminate all public funding for ongoing federal programs that seek to resettle refugees from Syria into the U.S. I also call on the American people to stop viewing Islamic extremism through the lens of political correctness.

We now know that several teams of ISIS terrorist attacked six different locations in Paris, killing at least 132 people and wounding hundreds more. We have also learned that one of the terrorists responsible for this grotesque attack may have left Syria posing as a migrant and was able to gain safe entry to France, Belgium and perhaps other central European countries.

Given the tragedy in Paris last Friday, the U.S. simply cannot, should not and must not accept any Syrian refugees. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has pledged that the U.S. would accept an additional 45,000 new refugees, mostly from Syria, from 2016 to 2017. This must not happen. Instead of half talk and feel-good promises, the U.S. must defend itself with sound security measures.

Paris offers a bloody reminder that we must not be afraid to confront those who harbor the jihadist views that have spread violence and hatred around the world.

Although President Obama and presidential candidates from the Democratic Party prefer to describe radical Islam as just a form of extremism, the rest of us should remember that jihadists who have spilled blood on our soil before and must never be allowed to do so again.

If we thought Islamic extremism is a phenomenon reserved for foreign lands, terrorists have made sure to expose our naiveté. From London to Paris, Sydney to Madrid, Fort Hood to Chattanooga, radical Islamists and their lone wolf followers have inflicted their savagery across the civilized world. Paris now offers the latest gruesome reminder of radical Islam’s barbarism.

Given this troubling reality, and given the bloodbaths that have been perpetrated in the name of Islam in the modern era, I announced a few months ago that I personally would not support having a Muslim president in the White House if he or she had not renounced Islamic extremism, Sharia law or the tenets and practices of Islam that are in conflict with the Constitution.

Certainly, not every Muslim subscribes to jihadist ideology. Throughout my career, I have worked with superb Muslim Americans. Many more have served America honorably by joining the U.S. military, fighting for America overseas, working with federal and local law enforcement to combat radicalization in their own communities and publicly denouncing the violent or misogynist teachings of radical Islamists.

For their decency and courage, we should be grateful. Unfortunately, their own communities have often viciously vilified them as heretics and infidels.

The reality is that the threat of radical Islam and the corrosive influence of Sharia law here in the U.S. is not just a figment of our imagination. The U.S. must defend itself by preventing the infiltration of terrorists who pose as refugees to enter our land. To do anything less is foolish.

Dr. Ben Carson is a Republican candidate for president.

See Ben Carson's Life in Photos

An early childhood photograph of Ben Carson.Courtesy of Ben Carson Campaign
Ben Carson's graduation from Southwestern High School, Detroit circa 1969.Courtesy of Ben Carson Campaign
Ben Carson with his mother, Sonya, and his future wife, Candy after his graduation from Yale University, circa 1973. Courtesy of Ben Carson Campaign
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Dr. Donlin Long, director of neurosurgery, left, and Dr. Ben Carson director of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins Hospital, with brain model of the Siamese twins separated in a 22-hour surgery at Hopkins, Sept. 7, 1987, in Baltimore.Fred Kraft—AP
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Dr. Ben Carson shares his personal story with middle school students on March 17, 2000 in Roswell, N.M.Aaron J. Walker—AP
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Dr Dennis Rohner, Dr Beat Hammer, Dr Ivan Ng, Dr Ben Carson, Prof. Walter Tan, and Dr Keith Goh rehearse an operation to separate conjoined twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani from Iran at Raffles Hospital on July 5, 2003 in Singapore.Reuters
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Dr. Keith Goh (left) adjusts the frame on conjoined twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani as Dr. Ben Carson observes the start of neurosurgery proceedings at the Raffles Hospital on July 6, 2003 in Singapore. Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ten-year-old Indian twins Sabah and Farah sit beside Ben Carson (C), Managing Director, Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, Anne Marie Moncure, their father Shakeel (L), their brother (R) and senior child specialist of Apollo Hospital, Dr. Anupan Sibal, on Oct. 4, 2005 in New Delhi.Raveendran—AFP/Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
George W. Bush presents a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ben Carson for his work with neurological disorders on June 19, 2008 at the White House in Washington.Alex Wong—Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson officially announces his candidacy for President of the United States on May 4, 2015 in Detroit.Bill Pugliano—Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson poses for a photo during the Iowa Republican Party's Lincoln Dinner on May 16, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa.Charlie Neibergall—AP
PresidBen Carson - Life in Picturesential Hopefuls Attend Southern Republican Leadership Conference
Ben Carson speaks during the Energizing America Gala at the 2015 Southern Republican Leadership Conference May 22, 2015 in Oklahoma City, Okla.Alex Wong—Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson at a political fund-raiser for GOP candidates on June 6, 2015, in Boone, Iowa. Jabin Bostford—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Republican presidential candidates from left, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and John Kasich take the stage for the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 6, 2015, in Cleveland. Andrew Harnik—AP
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson prays during church services at Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 16, 2015 in Des Moines , Iowa. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson rides the Sky Glider with a reporter while touring the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 16, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson and his wife Candy on Aug. 18, 2015 in Phoenix.Ross D. Franklin—AP
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson is greeted by supporters at a rally on Aug. 27, 2015 in Little Rock, Ark.Danny Johnston—AP
Ben Carson - Life in Pictures
Ben Carson at a service at Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 16, 2015 in Des Moines.Daniel Acker—Bloomberg/Getty Images

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