In his press conference on Monday, President Obama disparaged the phrase “American leadership” as a buzzword. His point was valid in context — the phrase is often abused in politics, turned into a cliche that substitutes for substantive descriptions of a foreign policy vision.
But leadership is still a real thing, and it consists of much more than simply bossing other people around. In times of crisis, leaders step forward to instruct and inform the public. They speak honestly and acknowledge that not all fears are unwarranted. This bolsters their credibility when they point out that some fears really are unwarranted.
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This week, a mild hysteria has swept legislators in both political parties — starting on the right and moving left — and a growing majority of the nation’s governors. In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, they express skepticism about Obama’s plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees. Either the politicians fear the consequence of taking on new refugees, or they fear what public opinion will say about them if they fail to speak up now and something terrible happens later.
At this moment, a bit of real leadership would be very helpful. No one is in a better position to provide it than Obama himself, who needs to rescue his own policy from what is beginning to resemble a bipartisan mutiny.
The easy thing to do right now is what some politicians and pundits are doing already — to pretend there is no problem; to condemn those who are worried about terrorists infiltrating the stream of refugees as backward-thinking, xenophobic, or unwilling to help strangers in need.
In contrast, a leader would try to understand the nature of the fear and acknowledge that it is not a frivolous fear. But he would also try to explain in some detail why the fear is overblown, and give accurate information that makes this clear. He would illuminate for the public what processes are in place to vet refugees, so that they can see these are not as flimsy as many people assume — even when vetting refugees who come from chaotic places with hostile regimes.
A true leader might even heed the public’s concern and respond by proposing changes to the process that will add even more rigor. But the important thing is to give those currently and legitimately afraid reasons to feel greater confidence that the 10,000 refugees who will be accepted this year are all people fleeing for their lives from the Islamic State, and not Islamic State infiltrators seeking to start new cells in the U.S.
If Obama were simply to illuminate this process in a major public speech, and in a manner that is respectful of everyone’s concerns, he would begin by explaining that refugee status has never been easy to obtain in the U.S., and is not the same as immigration status. He would point out that this will not be the first time the U.S. government has had to distinguish between real refugees and infiltrators.
He would then explain that the U.S. already accepts very few unmarried men of fighting age as refugees, since this is one fear that is often brought up. He would explain that the U.S. has a much more stringent process for vetting refugees than most European countries; that those who apply from camps in Turkey or Lebanon might have to wait up to two years to be admitted to the U.S.
He would explain a bit about the biometric background checks the government will use to identify and rule out any known or suspected terrorists. He would explain that each refugee must be interrogated in person and must tell his or her story of fleeing Syria, the details of which will be checked against all available intelligence.
He would also explain that, despite his recent criticism of those who would admit only Christians, the U.S. policy on refugees does already express a preference for those who belong to persecuted religions.
If Obama chooses this course instead of the easy one, will be doing his nation a favor. He will be showing real leadership, not just telling Americans how it’s going to be. He will also dissuade many other elected officials and citizens from unwisely closing the door on people who are desperately fleeing for their lives.
