Dr. Ben Carson is in Jordan today to see first hand the refugees from the Syrian civil war housed in that country. There are 1.4 million Syrian refugees in a country that has only about 6.5 million people. That means that the Jordanians have taken in about 1 Syrian refugee for about every 4 Jordanians. If that happened in the USA there would be about 80 million refugees here. All those refugees impose a staggering burden on the country; they need help.
But let's get back to Dr. Carson. He has had a pretty bad few weeks as the focus of the campaigns and the country has been on foreign policy and terrorism. The hole in Carson's knowledge on that topic has become clear to many voters, and Carson's support has sagged as a result. The trip to Jordan is a way to gain knowledge, show involvement and stay away from too many questions about policy all at the same time. Carson, after all, can go to see the medical care being provided for the refugees and be quite knowledgeable without having to discuss which targets ought to be hit in Syria or what forces ought to be fighting ISIS or Assad on the ground.
The reality, however, is that the pressing issue is not how to deal with refugees in Jordan. In that region of the world, being a refugee has often become a career. There are millions of Palestinians who claim refugee status even though it was their grandparents or great grandparents who left Palestine 70 years ago when the state of Israel was founded. For all that time, the United Nations relief agency has supported these families as refugees. For many, claiming never-ending refugee status is the best thing in their lives. We need to find a solution to the Syrian war so that these new Syrian refugees do not become permanently so classified.
Carson promises proposals in the next few weeks about how to deal with the Syrian civil war and the refugees. It will be interesting to see what Carson suggests. If it is just the usual "let's help the refugees" refrain, then we will all know for certain that Dr. Carson does not have what it takes to be president. As a doctor, Carson knows that one has to treat the disease and not the symptoms if a cure is to be achieved.
But let's get back to Dr. Carson. He has had a pretty bad few weeks as the focus of the campaigns and the country has been on foreign policy and terrorism. The hole in Carson's knowledge on that topic has become clear to many voters, and Carson's support has sagged as a result. The trip to Jordan is a way to gain knowledge, show involvement and stay away from too many questions about policy all at the same time. Carson, after all, can go to see the medical care being provided for the refugees and be quite knowledgeable without having to discuss which targets ought to be hit in Syria or what forces ought to be fighting ISIS or Assad on the ground.
The reality, however, is that the pressing issue is not how to deal with refugees in Jordan. In that region of the world, being a refugee has often become a career. There are millions of Palestinians who claim refugee status even though it was their grandparents or great grandparents who left Palestine 70 years ago when the state of Israel was founded. For all that time, the United Nations relief agency has supported these families as refugees. For many, claiming never-ending refugee status is the best thing in their lives. We need to find a solution to the Syrian war so that these new Syrian refugees do not become permanently so classified.
Carson promises proposals in the next few weeks about how to deal with the Syrian civil war and the refugees. It will be interesting to see what Carson suggests. If it is just the usual "let's help the refugees" refrain, then we will all know for certain that Dr. Carson does not have what it takes to be president. As a doctor, Carson knows that one has to treat the disease and not the symptoms if a cure is to be achieved.
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