Adrenaline

... proposed a mandatory registration for
all Muslims in the U.S.; not just
refugees, but all Muslims.

For anyone who's ever served in the military, the media hype and panicky rhetoric are embarrassing.

In a crisis, fear and confusion can rise above reason. We count on cooler heads to command our national response. Whether a disaster is natural or manmade, we must respond with decisions and plans, logistics, materiel, and mobilization of appropriate force. None of those emerge from adrenaline or the fog of fear.

The conflict in Syria has been underway for years. The refugee crisis isn't new, nor is an attack like the one in Paris unexpected.  All are lamentable, brought about by criminal actions. The EU is struggling with border and processing issues. The terrorists identified so far are not themselves refugees nor did they enter the EU as refugees. The plot's mastermind came and went in the EU without difficulty.

ISIS is the root of this current panic. Most of us are perhaps not aware, the refugee exodus is a problem for ISIS. It undermines the organization's message that their self-styled caliphate is a refuge. America's fear-mongering headlines are in fact helping Isis.  They provide support for Isis’ argument that the west is no place for Syrian Muslims, and that their only salvation lies in the caliphate.

... suggested Christian refugees only ...

Congressional Republicans voted on Thursday to make it even more difficult for refugees from Syria and Iraq to come to the US, perhaps more a response to public fear than to practical need.

More than half of the US’s governors have said they oppose receiving Syrian refugees, many insisting that they pose a threat to national security.

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has said he has directed state police to “track” the Syrian refugees in his state. 

The speaker said the legislative response should
 not be entirely focused on refugees, and it
should include a comprehensive plan
to defeat ISIS.  Well intended but
 ignored by most of the players
on both sides of the aisle.

Donald Trump says: “We have a president that wants to take hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands, of people and move them into our country.”  Actually the administration has proposed just ten thousand Syrian refugees be admitted, less than half of one percent of the refugee total, and all are cases recommended by the UNHCR.  Trump has proposed a mandatory registration for all Muslims in the U.S.; not just refugees, but all Muslims.

GOP presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush have suggested the government prioritize Christian refugees over Muslims.

President Obama has pledged to veto the legislation, and has condemned the anti-refugee comments as “un-American”.

The U.S. process for receiving refugees is detailed and thorough; it takes 18-24 months for a refugee to pass through.  The process will, of course, be reviewed based on current concerns.

“Sowing fear of refugees is exactly the kind of response groups like Isis are seeking,” said Iain Levine, deputy executive director for program at Human Rights Watch, on Thursday. “Yes, governments need to bring order to refugee processing and weed out militant extremists, but now more than ever they also need to stand with people uprooted from their homes by ideologies of hatred and help them find real protection.”

Again, for anyone who's ever served in the military, the media hype and panicky rhetoric are embarrassing.  

A moment's clear thinking on the subject and our goals as a nation might be helpful. 

It's not likely that welcoming the few proposed refugees will overrun our population or pollute our culture and destroy the nation.

This might perhaps be a good time for America to say clearly and collectively, we stand against ISIS and all like them. We commit to the pursuit and destruction of such criminal organizations, and we offer our hand to assist those who have been unjustly treated.   ... and then do what we've said.