Exactly Wrong

A growing number of state leaders have responded to the Paris attacks by insisting that they will not allow any Syrian refugees to enter. Here’s Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a letter to President Obama: “Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terroristic activity.” He’s right. The Syrian refugees are all part of a terrorist activity. They are its victims.

+ Obama responded to those who have suggested closing state borders to Syrians (or only opening them to Christians): “The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism; they are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife.” To understand Syrians’ life on the run, you have to consider the remarkable civilian death toll in what used to be their country.

+ Harleen Gambhir on the Islamic State’s trap for Europe: “The group hopes frequent, devastating attacks in its name will provoke overreactions by European governments against innocent Muslims, thereby alienating and radicalizing Muslim communities throughout the continent.”

+ The Daily Beast: ISIS targeted Muslims in Paris. (To get ISIS, you have to get this.)