Ben Carson: Ban Middle Eastern Refugees After Paris Attacks
In the wake of the attacks in Paris that left at least 150 people dead Friday, according to news reports, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson argued that the United States should block Middle Eastern refugees from coming into the country, the Washington Post reports.
Speaking to a group of Republican Party activists at an event Friday evening, Carson said, “If we’re going to be bringing 200,000 people over here from that region — if I were one of the leaders of the global jihadist movement and I didn’t infiltrate that group of people with my people, that would be almost malpractice.”
He said the Obama administration lacks “the kind of vision that would allow you to recognize that once you’ve gotten a place like Iraq under control you don’t withdraw, which leaves an incredible vacuum and allows for the development of things like ISIS.”
As of Friday evening, it was unclear who was responsible for the terror in the French capital.
“There are those out there who have a thirst for innocent blood in an attempt to spread their philosophy and their will across this globe,” Carson said at the same event, per the Washington Post. “We must redouble our efforts and our resolve to resist them. Not only to contain them, but to eliminate that kind of hatred in the world.”
Other candidates from both sides of the aisle tweeted and released statements offering prayers and thoughts to the people of Paris Friday evening.
Mike Huckabee also tweeted that “America will always have your back in the war against terrorism. Always,” while Jeb Bush wrote, “America will stand with you against terror.”
Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders described being “horrified” by the attack, and Hillary Clinton called the news reports from Paris “harrowing.”