Barack Obama says debate on refugees feeds IS propaganda

President Barack Obama said the increasingly rancorous US debate on Syrian refugees feeds Islamic State (IS) propaganda that the US and its European allies are at war with the Muslim world.

For the second time this week, Obama lashed out at politicians and US governors, most of them Republicans, who are pushing to block the administration from allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees to resettle in the country.

“I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for Isil than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate,’’ Obama said at a news conference yesterday morning in the Philippines, using an acronym for the extremist group blamed for the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday and the downing of a Russian passenger aircraft last month.

The administration is undertaking a campaign to assure legislators and the public that it can keep terrorists from mixing with incoming Syrian refugees.

While most of the opposition has come from Republicans, the White House plan was dealt a blow on Tuesday when New York’s Charles Schumer, a top Senate Democrat, voiced reservations about the resettlement programme.

The administration is conducting a multi-day blitz of briefings and calls with the media, legislators, governors and mayors from across the country who have questions about the refugee-screening process. – (Bloomberg)