Monday’s The View featured a segment with Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant and former Clinton and Bush national security staffer, discussing the decision by the President to continue to allow the 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country, despite the Paris terrorist attack Friday night. Clarke iterated that “We are a country of refugees. The people we're allowing in are the victims of terrorism. We shouldn't punish victims of terrorism. Now, clearly ISIS is trying to infiltrate them alright? They’re trying to slip their guys in which apparently they did in this case in France.” When Paula Faris brought up that Marco Rubio said “you can't do a background check on a lot of these refugees. You just can't call someone up in Syria because it's hard to track them down,” Clarke got personal against Rubio.
“Marco Rubio is here because the United States allows in refugees. Marco Rubio is a citizen of the United States because his family were refugees that we allowed in, and now he wants to shut the door on refugees?”
As to Rubio’s point, Clarke re-affirmed that “There is a process, a process to check these people and if there's any doubt at all they're not allowed in. It takes 18 months, 24 months while these people sit in wretched refugee camps.” Joy Behar would ask where the camps are located that are “wretched” according to Clarke, and Clarked followed up with another shot at Rubio. “In Turkey, in Lebanon, in Jordan, while these people have the background checks. And if there is any doubt at all, they’re not allowed in. Marco Rubio doesn't know what the process is. There is a process and it's worked.”
Last year, Clarke appeared on the radical Pacifica Radio network and suggested leading figures in the Bush administration could be prosecuted for war crimes over the invasion of Iraq: "I think things that they authorized probably fall within the area of war crimes."
See the relevant transcript below.
2015-11-16-The View
PAULA FARIS: This morning the president reiterated we are going to let those 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country. How can Americans feel safe that that policy and the protocol is stringent enough to not allow people like this into our country?
RICHARD CLARKE: I thought the president today was almost emotional about this. He said we are a country of immigrants. We are a country of refugees. The people we're allowing in are the victims of terrorism. We shouldn't punish victims of terrorism. Now, clearly ISIS is trying to infiltrate them alright? They’re trying to slip their guys in which apparently they did in this case in France, so we have to do all the background checking possible and not let anybody in until that background check --
FARIS: Marco Rubio made a point, too, you can't do a background check on a lot of these refugees. You just can't call someone up in Syria because it's hard to track them down.
CLARKE: Marco Rubio is here because the United States allows in refugees. Marco Rubio is a citizen of the United States because his family were refugees that we allowed in, and now he wants to shut the door on refugees?
FARIS: You're saying we can trust the process though?
JOY BEHAR: What about the point he makes?
CLARKE: There is a process, a process to check these people and if there's any doubt at all they're not allowed in. It takes 18 months, 24 months while these people sit in wretched refugee camps --
BEHAR: Where?
CLARKE: In Turkey, in Lebanon, in Jordan, while these people have the background checks. And if there is any doubt at all, they’re not allowed in. Marco Rubio doesn't know what the process is. There is a process and it's worked.
CANDACE CAMERON BURE: Everyone is in such a state of shock that this has happened. How hard is it to find these terrorists before they strike? Are we losing the capability?
CLARKE: Well, we've found a lot of them. We've prevented dozens of attacks in the United States since 9/11. We have a good capability now. Now there will always be one that gets by. This is like for the counter-terrorism people this is like being the hockey goalie. You stop 1,000 pucks, one gets by, you lose the game. It's very, very difficult job and no one is ever going to say we're 100% safe. Obviously the United States is doing everything it knows how to do.
