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Jeb Bush keeps focus on ISIS threat — but struggles on some details - The
Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/17/jeb-bush-keeps-focus-on-isis-threat-but-struggles-on-some-details/

Jeb Bush keeps focus on ISIS threat — but struggles on some details

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush listens to a question from the
audience during a campaign event at the Wholly Smokin BBQ in Florence, S.C.
(REUTERS/Randall Hill)

CONWAY, S.C. -- Sensing a political opportunity, Republican presidential
candidate Jeb Bush warned again on Tuesday that the Paris terrorist attacks
should convince GOP primary voters to nominate a candidate serious enough
to tackle emerging global threats.

But he struggled at times to explain the mechanics of how he would respond
to the attacks, which have left 129 people dead and sparked a new national
debate over whether to accept refugees from war-torn Syria.

Far back in recent polls, Bush has spent the past several days making his
case in television interviews, repeating a national security strategy he
first outlined in August during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Library.
Aides believe that a focus on national security begets talk of a
candidate's experience and preparedness to serve as commander-in-chief.

On Wednesday, Bush is scheduled to give a speech at The Citadel, the
military college in Charleston, on military readiness. The theme of the
speech has shifted slightly to focus more broadly on national security.
Given recent events, Bush aides anticipate the address will be closely
watched.

[*Senior Obama officials have warned of challenges in screening refugees
from Syria
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/11/17/senior-obama-officials-have-warned-of-challenges-in-screening-refugees-from-syria/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_refugee-vetting-315pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory>*
]

"The world changed this weekend in a lot of ways," Bush told a lunchtime
crowd Tuesday at the stately Palmetto Club in Columbia, the state capital.

"We’re electing a president of the United States, a commander-in-chief of
our armed forces," he added. "It’s a serious undertaking. It’s something
that I think as people get closer to the election, they begin to think a
little more seriously about, and maybe the terrorist tragedy accelerated
that thought."

Bush has said that the United States should put a priority on accepting
Christians fleeing persecution in Syria and across the Middle East.

[*Germany cancels soccer match, citing bomb threat
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/france-launches-new-airstrikes-on-syria-and-more-anti-terrorism-raids-in-france/2015/11/17/4b84e27e-8cc9-11e5-934c-a369c80822c2_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-high_paris-440am-desktoponly%3Ahomepage%2Fstory>*
]

"At a minimum, we ought to be bringing people like orphans and people who
are clearly not going to be terrorists," he told reporters later in the day
after a campaign stop in Florence. "Or Christians. There are no Christian
terrorists in the Middle East, they’re persecuted, they are religious
minorities."

Asked how he would direct federal agencies to screen refugees to confirm
their Christian faith, Bush said: "You’re a Christian, I mean, you can
prove you’re a Christian."

When reporters pressed him on how a refugee’s Christianity could be proven,
he said, “I think you can prove it. [If] you can’t prove it, then, you
know, you err on the side of caution."

Instead of allowing refugees to travel to the United States, Bush said that
the Obama administration should be working quickly to establish "safe
zones" in Syria.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Bush seemed to put distance between
himself and state governors who are refusing to accept Middle Eastern
refugees by saying that "The answer to this is not to ban people from
coming. The answer is to lead, to resolve the problem in Syria."

But aides quickly clarified that Bush supports the more than two dozen
governors who have said they won't accept refugees in their states.

Later, Bush told students here at Coastal Carolina University that "I don’t
know if the governors have any constitutional basis other than to express
disagreement. And they’ve been effective at doing that and I think that’s
more than proper. There needs to be a full explanation of the full vetting
process."

Speaking to nearly 300 students, he defended his calls to give a preference
to Christian refugees from the Middle East.

"They’re not Islamic terrorists, they’re Christians who are being
castigated, persecuted and sadly in some cases, beheaded because of their
love for Jesus. Whether you’re religious or not, that should be something
that I think should haunt us as a nation," he said.

Bush noted that President Obama criticized his stance while traveling in
Turkey on Monday and suggested that the candidate didn't have sympathy for
Muslims suffering from the violence.

"Well, I do," Bush said. "We all have sympathies for people who have been
uprooted. ... But we have a duty to protect our country as well. And that’s
the point."


Eric D. Schwerin
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com

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