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Anyone Had A Change Of Mind?

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anotheoldgit | 10:39 Sun 22nd Nov 2015 | News
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3328754/UK-counter-terror-chief-reveals-police-watching-118-Syrian-jihadis-Britain-183-suspects-held-Syria-related-crime.html

After reading this report, plus what has happened in Paris, have those who believe we should allow the hordes that are coming in from Syria, to wander freely across Europe, had a change of mind?
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Jim, //It's not enough, in my opinion, to say that simply being a refugee makes you a potential terrorist. //

Apart from the fact that many of them aren't 'refugees', as sad as it may be, in the current climate I think we're very silly indeed to give any of them the benefit of the doubt. They're clearly not all terrorists, but I imagine there are many sympathisers among them - you know, those who hate the west, but nevertheless want to live here.
There may well be some "sympathisers" -- but you can't really know one way or the other. The policy we design ought to be based on finding a balance between preserving our security as far as possible while also recognising that a great deal of the people are refugees from a war-torn state. It isn't going to be easy to find such a balance but it ought to be the target.

With respect to AOG's "the majority aren't genuine refugees" claim, I wonder if this is a misinterpretation of Eurostat's data:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_quarterly_report

This source explains that 213,200 non-EU asylum applications were made during April-June 2015, of which "only" 44,000 were from Syria. So I think that's about 1 in 5 (eg this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3240010/Number-refugees-arriving-Europe-soars-85-year-just-one-five-war-torn-Syria.html -- similar figures are also available from other newspapers so this isn't Daily Mail spin, just the first hit on Google). On the other hand, a great deal of the rest came from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Albania, Somalia, Libya, Kosovo, Ukraine... if the criterion for being a "genuine refugee" is that they can only come from Syria then fair enough -- but there are other states that are less than stable in the world and their claims for being "genuine refugees" are just as legitimate.
AOG

Perhaps you might want to rethink your idea of what a potential terrorist is.

I'm going to use dispassionate logic here, and consider the facts...potential terrorists need access to communication, and they need safe houses in which to build and deploy weaponry.

They need to be located in specific areas with access to tools and equipment.

They absolutely need finance and access to the Internet.

They need to be covert.

Here's the thing...if I were a Syrian IS 'combatant', would it not make more sense to simply fly to Europe and then meet up with contacts here?

Rather than face the uncertainty of the risky venture that the refugees are taking?

Do you think that this is a more likely scenario?

Yes, we could absolute shut all borders and turn all refugees away, and I am sure that by doing this, we will be blocking some seriously undesirable people.

...but if it were down to me, I would be focussing my efforts in tracking and monitoring sympathisers who are here.

I suspect that this is the route that our security services have followed, and I for one applaud the fact that there hasn't been a serious attack on UK soil in over a decade.

There may be a terrorist attack tomorrow - neither you nor I have foresight, but I think your approach to the problem will only give superficial reassurance.
Sp 'but if it were down to me, I would be focussing my efforts in tracking and monitoring sympathisers who are here.'

If you read the article, that's exactly what is happening.
Jim, //but you can't really know one way or the other//

Exactly.
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jim360

/// Being Muslim does not make one a "potential terrorist", any more than being a Christian makes one a potential KKK member. ///

Don't try those side track methods Jim, it might work on some but it doesn't on me.

If we were discussing the KKK I might agree to a certain extent with that principal, although I can't see that there is a particular connection between Christianity and the KKK.

But we are discussing the present terrorist activity that has recently taken place all in the name of Islam, and all the dead terrorists and arrested suspects happen to be Muslim, so I think there is a stronger connection between terrorism and Muslims, that the KKK and Christians.
Close our borders immediately, intern all Muslims so that they can be closely monitored. For the sake of all of us let us at long last grow some backbone.
I'm not trying to sidetrack things AOG -- what I am saying is that if you are going to assuming that being a member of the second-largest religion on the planet makes you a potential terrorist that is an utterly wrong inference to draw and no basis for making decisions on immigrant policy.
Like WR says. And he, too, is falling for the ISIS trap it has to be said. What better way to increase support for an organisation determined to spread the propaganda that there is a war between the West and Muslims, than for the West to intern all Muslims? It's frankly a disgusting suggestion.
jim360

I was answering AOG's question in the OP ("...have those who believe we should allow the hordes that are coming in from Syria, to wander freely across Europe, had a change of mind?")
And has certain parallels with 1930s Germany.
Not sure this tells us anything we do not already know.
1500 people have travelled from the UK to Syria and good riddance to them. But we know, and it should be obvious to everyone, that people here are in contact with them. That is what the report is about. Because some stupid young girl is planning to be a Jihadi Bride does not mean an attack is imminent. If (or when) an attack comes, it will be by a sleeper cell who are not on the phone to Syria every day.
^I disagree. A different scenario entirely.
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This should proove interesting if it comes to pass.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4578486.ece
^That was to Zacs-Master.
AOG

KKK and Christianity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan

Like ISIS, the KKK have perverted the cause of Christianity for their own perverted and twisted take on the world.
Yeah WR...internment will work won't it ! Where will we put them ?

Isle of Man perhaps ?
I said 'certain parallels' Naomi. A country decides that a certain religious group are the root of all evil and takes action to control that group. No?
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Zacs-Maste
And has certain parallels with 1930s Germany. //
I refuse to believe that . Out of all the people who have gone from this country to join IS to train to overthrow our way of life how many have come from religions other than Islam ? You have become deluded to the truth. Certain Islamic sections are determined to rule the world & impose their laws & beliefs upon all nations of the world, open your eyes to the actual facts.
Erm...ok Whiskers. I afraid I can't subscribe to your rather radical standpoint.

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