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The Vice President:
Good morning everyone.
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This past week we've seen
the best and the worst
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of humanity.
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The heinous terrorist
attacks in Paris and Beirut,
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in Iraq and Nigeria.
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They showed us once
again the depths of the
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terrorist's depravity.
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And at the same time we saw
the world come together
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in solidarity.
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Parisians opening their
doors to anyone trapped in
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the street, taxi drivers
turning off their meters to
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get people home safety,
people lining up
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to donate blood.
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These simple human acts are
a powerful reminder that we
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cannot be broken and in the
face of terror we stand as one.
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In the wake of these
terrible events,
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I understand the anxiety
that many Americans feel.
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I really do.
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I don't dismiss the fear of
a terrorist bomb going off.
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There's nothing President Obama
and I take more seriously though,
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than keeping
the American people safe.
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In the past few
weeks though,
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we've heard an awful lot of
people suggest that the best
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way to keep America safe
is to prevent any Syrian
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refugee from gaining asylum
in the United States.
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So let's set the record
straight how it works
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for a refugee to get asylum.
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Refugees face the most
rigorous screening of anyone
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who comes to the
United States.
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First they are
finger printed,
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then they undergo a
thorough background check,
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then they are interviewed by
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the Department of Homeland Security.
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And after that the FBI,
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the National Counterterrorism Center,
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the Department of Defense
and the Department of State,
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they all have
to sign off on access.
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And to address the specific
terrorism concerns we are
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talking about now, we've
instituted another layer of
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checks just for
Syrian refugees.
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There is no possibility of
being overwhelmed by a flood
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of refugees landing on
our doorstep tomorrow.
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Right now, refugees wait
18 to 24 months while the
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screening process
is completed.
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And unlike in Europe,
refugees don't set foot in
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the United States until
they are thoroughly vetted.
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Let's also remember who
the vast majority of these
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refugees are: women,
children, orphans,
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survivors of torture, people
desperately
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in need of medical help.
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To turn them away and say
there is no way you can ever
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get here would play right
into the terrorists' hands.
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We know what ISIL - we
know what they hope
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to accomplish.
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They flat-out told us.
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Earlier this year, the top
ISIL leader al-Baghdadi
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revealed the true
goal of their attacks.
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Here's what he said: "Compel
the crusaders to actively
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destroy the gray
zone themselves.
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Muslims in the West will
quickly find themselves
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between one of two choices.
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Either apostatize or
emigrate to the Islamic State
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and thereby
escape persecution."
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So it's clear.
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It's clear what ISIL wants.
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They want to manufacture a
clash between civilizations.
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They want frightened people
to think in terms of
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"us versus them."
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They want us to turn our
backs on Muslims victimized
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by terrorism.
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But this gang of thugs
peddling a warped ideology,
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they will never prevail.
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The world is united in our
resolve to end their evil.
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And the only thing ISIL can
do is spread terror in hopes
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that we will in turn,
turn on ourselves.
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We will betray our
ideals and take actions,
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actions motivated by
fear that will drive more
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recruits into
the arms of ISIL.
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That's how they win.
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We win by prioritizing
our security
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as we've been doing.
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Refusing to compromise our
fundamental American values:
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freedom, openness,
tolerance.
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That's who we are.
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That's how we win.
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May God continue to bless
the United States of America
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and God bless our troops.