President Obama has undermined the 'tough' demeanour presented by Republicans trying to block Syrian refugees by accusing them of being scared of widows and orphans coming into the US.
Speaking in the Philippines during a meeting with President Benign Aquino, Obama launched a blistering verbal attack on the opposition party after a number of Republican governors opposed Syrian refugees entering the country in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.
On Tuesday, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, advocated a “pause” of the Syrian refugee resettlement programme “in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population”.
Obama dismissed calls for a block on Syrian refugees as political posturing and mocked Republicans for being scared of apparently being scared of such vulnerable people.
According to The Guardian, Mr Obama told reporters: "These are the folks who suggested they're so tough that just 'talk to Putin' or staring down Isis [will work]... but they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion.
"At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three-year-old orphans. That doesn't seem so tough to me."
An estimated 2,500 Syrian refugees have fled to America since 2011. Data released by state department officials shows about two per cent are single men of combat age.
Mr Obama also condemned the rhetoric used by some Republican members for playing into Isis's propaganda campaign: “I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for Isil [Isis] than some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of here during the course of this debate.
“[Isis] seeks to exploit the idea that there’s war between Islam and the West, and when you see individuals in positions of responsibility suggesting Christians are more worthy of protection than Muslims are in a war-torn land, that feeds the Isis narrative. It’s counter-productive and it needs to stop.”
Mr Obama was referring to a recommendation made by GOP candidate Jeb Bush that the country only admits Christian Syrians. Although he later said he would give preference to Christians over Muslims.
“We are not well served when in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic.”
Saying he understood why Americans have been "particularly" affected by Friday’s attacks in the French capital, the President reiterated the current refugee screening process is thorough. It takes between 18 and 24 months to process and vet a refugee's application for asylum.
The calls mounted after claims that one of the terrorists involved in Friday’s attacks entered France among refugees and was carrying a Syrian passport, although security officials have said the passport may have been a fake.
Additional reporting by Associated Press.
