With the recent terrorist attacks on Paris and Beirut, greater public and media scrutiny has been applied to how candidates for the U.S. presidency would handle the threat of ISIS, the terrorist group claiming responsibility for both attacks, as well as multiple kidnappings and shocking executions in recent years.
National Public Radio’s Danielle Kurtzleben and researcher Barbara Sprunt compiled, through public statements and requests for comments from the campaigns, a grid of where the candidates stand on a range of issues pertaining to ISIS and terrorism.
For context, NATO Article 5 states basically that an attack on one member of the international coalition is an attack on all members, and would obligate more the organization’s 28 member states to get involved in ongoing military operations against ISIS and its affiliates.
The question of whether — or how many — Syrian refugees to allow into the U.S. has become a hot-button political issue. Several governors, including Maine Gov. Paul LePage, have said they oppose the relocation of Syrian refugees into their states, based largely on concerns the refugee groups could include undercover terrorist operatives.
Supporters of welcoming Syrian refugees to America have argued doing so aligns with the country’s ethos, that blocking their entry gives in to the kind of terror ISIS seeks to evoke, and drives more desperate refugees to join the ranks of the terrorist group.
