GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson says we should look at the allegation that Turkey is making money off the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group.
“I don’t see any reason why you can’t look at it. Anything that is significant or could have an impact on what’s going on should be looked at,” Carson responded during an interview with Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM with host Stephen K. Bannon. “If there’s nothing to hide, then I don’t think the Turks should be disturbed by the fact that somebody was at least investigating.”
Carson also explained to Bannon why he took a trip to Jordan and spoke with Syrian refugees.
“One of the reasons that I really wanted to go over there for myself is to see what the people themselves were saying,” Carson told Bannon, adding that he asked the Syrian refugees what they wanted to see the United States do to help.
“I got a very consistent answer that they want to go back to Syria,” Carson said. “It’s a beautiful country,” adding, “one of my daughter-in-laws has a Syrian background. I’ve been hearing about Syria forever.”
The refugees told Carson that the United States “could provide more support for nations like Jordan. Jordan is the second poorest nation and yet they’ve opened their borders. They have these refugee camps for decades, but right now they’re primarily dedicated to Syrians.”
“It is a safe haven for them,” Carson said of the camps, adding, “Bringing a few thousand of them here doesn’t even begin to solve the problem.”
Carson told Bannon that bringing the Syrian refugees to the United States ignores the fact that ISIS will try to infiltrate the program. Carson questioned, “Why create more problems? Why not seize [upon] something that works?”
He said the refugees and officials he met with during his trip to Jordan stressed the need for more funding to help with the people in the refugee camps now.
“The reason that the camps are not full is because there’s not adequate funding,” Carson said. “I believe that we and other nations should be putting much more pressure on [Arab nations]” to take in more refugees.
Carson said that it is “much easier for [the refugees] to integrate” into a society and culture closer to theirs rather than coming all the way to the United States. He said that when people are taken away from their culture, they tend to congregate and the congregation makes them more of a target of radicalization.
“They have to fight this,” Carson said about Congress fighting to defund the Obama administration’s Syrian refugee resettlement program. “We are fighting for the safety of America. We are fighting for our children and our grandchildren.”
Regarding the war against ISIS, Carson said, “They’ve been able to establish a caliphate. Take that away from them,” and take away oil income. He said that those people who are pretty desperate are recruited, but the recruitment will stop if ISIS has nothing to offer.
“We need to understand that and deprive them from the ability to do that,” he added.