With CIA Director John Brennan warning of Islamic State operatives among the refugees flowing into Europe, U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch says it’s time to pressure European allies to step up their screening of extremists and keep them from infiltrating the United States.
Lynch said the screening in Germany and Turkey that are processing millions of Syrian refugees is key to American security, particularly when it comes to detecting false documentation.
“Individuals coming from those countries get preferred treatment, so if those systems in those countries are compromised, that translates into a real danger for American national security,” Lynch told the Herald. “We can only be so good in our own ability on our shores and in our ports. We need others as well to be vigilant at their borders.”
Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday he’s particularly concerned about the Islamic State boosting its control of territory in Libya, which is a straight shot across the Mediterranean to Europe.
“ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West. And the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate methods of travel,” Brennan testified.
The FBI and ICE have voiced concern about the Islamic State creating fake Syrian passports, and a move is on to use biometric technology on U.S. passports. Lynch said the U.S. needs to insist our European allies implement higher-tech passports as well.
Graham Allison, director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, said Brennan is “telling the truth even when it’s uncomfortable” on the threat posed by refugee flows.
“Since Trump has made an issue of the screening of immigrants and refugees, there’s a temptation by people who are opposing his views to simply say this is not a problem,” Allison said. “I think what Brennan is saying — in my view, correctly — is that of course this is yet another problem.”
President Obama has pledged to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of September. Lynch said the U.S. is “way behind” that pace because of tighter screening protocol that now involves the National Security Agency.
“We’re being criticized roundly for that,” Lynch said. “I would be very cautious about relaxing the scrutiny that we’re applying right now.”
