Conservative Blogger
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Obama condemns 'outrageous' Paris attacks, State Department scrambles to locate Americans
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| President Obama Condemned this, yet wants to bring Syria Refugees to America? |
President Obama condemned the multiple terror attacks in Paris late Friday, calling them an "outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians" and vowing the U.S. will do what it takes to help "bring these terrorists to justice."
"This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share," Obama said from the White House. "... This is a heartbreaking situation."
While stressing he does not know all the details and does "not want to speculate," Obama said the U.S. is "prepared and ready" to give whatever assistance is needed to the French government and people.
"France is our oldest ally," Obama said.
The attack, and the president's comments, came hours after an interview aired in which Obama claimed the Islamic State was being contained.
"I don't think they're gaining strength," Obama told ABC News' "Good Morning America." "We have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq. And in Syria, they'll come in, they'll leave, but you don't see this systematic march by ISIL across the terrain."
He acknowledged coalition forces have not been able to "decapitate their command-and-control structures."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attacks. Online accounts linked to the Islamic State are celebrating the attack, though this does not represent a claim of responsibility.
More than 150 people were believed to have been killed in Friday's attacks, with gunmen executing scores of victims inside a Paris concert hall after killing dozens of others at separate locations. The State Department said that 70 U.S. citizens known to be in France have not yet been accounted for, though none of them has been reported killed.
The State Department says U.S. citizens can contact 1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S.) or 202-501-4444 (from other countries) for assistance.
Secretary of State John Kerry, saying he shares the president's "outrage and sadness," also said the U.S. embassy in Paris is "making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in the city."
"These are heinous, evil, vile acts," Kerry said. "Those of us who can must do everything in our power to fight back against what can only be considered an assault on our common humanity."
The series of attacks gripped the city in fear and recalled the horrors of the Charlie Hebdo carnage just 10 months ago.
A U.S. government official told Fox News they believe this was a coordinated attack. One source said it points to "months of planning" based on the multiple locations where the attacks were playing out.
Amid the attacks, Fox News is told that officials were "beefing up" security at the U.S. Capitol Friday evening, though there is no concrete intelligence indicating a threat in the U.S.
On Twitter, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "All of Paris needs our prayers tonight."
The Department of Homeland Security put out a statement saying they are "closely monitoring" the events.
"At this time, there is no specific or credible threat to the United States," the DHS statement said.
According to a White House official, Obama has been briefed on the situation by Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.
Obama said Friday the American people "stand together with [the French people] in the fight against terrorism and extremism."
"We're going to do whatever it takes to work with the French people [and other nations] ... to bring these terrorists to justice," he said.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter also has been briefed on the attack, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.
"At this point in time we are not aware of any DoD personnel involved in this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people at this difficult moment," Cook said.
The attack comes as France has heightened security measures ahead of a major global climate conference that starts in two weeks, out of fear of violent protests and potential terrorist attacks.
Ted Cruz urges border wall in immigration plan, ramps up attacks on Rubio
Ted Cruz unveiled a hard-line immigration plan on Friday that includes a border wall as he also ramped up attacks on rival Marco Rubio, saying the Florida senator stood "shoulder to shoulder" with lawmakers in support of a "massive amnesty plan" for illegal immigrants.
"Immigration is an issue that divides this country, it is an issue that divides the Republican Party," Cruz, a Texas senator, said during a rally with supporters in Orlando.
The Cruz plan includes everything from building a complete southern border wall to ending birthright citizenship to halting legal immigration when unemployment gets “unacceptably high.”
"I will complete the wall," Cruz vows in the plan, endorsing an objective that Donald Trump has been touting for months.
Shortly before releasing the document, Cruz zeroed in on Republican presidential rival Rubio, who is third in most national polls and narrowly ahead of Cruz.
"Listen, I like Marco a lot, he is charming and he's very well-liked in Washington," Cruz told Fox News right before hitting the stage. "But at the end of the day, where you stand on the issues speaks volumes."
Cruz accused Rubio of being the "point of the spear" for the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators who tried to come up with a comprehensive immigration policy in 2013 and failed. He accused Rubio of standing "shoulder to shoulder" with them.
"Where you stood up and lined up on the Gang of Eight bill was a time for choosing," Cruz later said during the rally. Without naming names, he blasted Republicans who support giving law-abiding illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. "There is nothing compassionate about a politician saying I am so compassionate I am willing to give away your jobs."
Rubio shot back on Friday. "On the immigration front, as I said, I'm puzzled and quite frankly surprised by Ted's attacks since Ted's position on immigration is not much different than mine," Rubio told reporters after his own speech Friday. "He's a supporter of legalizing people who are in this country illegally. If he's changed that position, then someone has a right to change his position on the issue but he should be clear about that."
When asked about this Friday, Cruz quipped, "I have to say, when I heard that I laughed out loud. I understand why he regrets having taken the position he did. To say we are on the same [page] on the immigration issue is to say my position and Barack Obama's position on health care is the same."
Cruz, meanwhile, said President Obama lacks the "will" to build a complete wall along the southern border and as president he would “build a wall that works," along with tripling the number of border agents, increasing surveillance, and adding biometric screening at entry checkpoints.
Further, Cruz says he would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving financial benefits and strengthen E-Verify for employers. He would suspend the issuance of all H-1B (employment) visas for 180 days for audit to ensure it is not being abused. He would also require that anyone coming in with an H-1B visa have an advanced degree, and prevent employers bringing these visa holders in from laying off domestic workers for a set period of time.
Cruz's position on high-skilled visas represents a complete about-face on one of his long-held immigration stances.
During the Senate immigration debate two years ago, the Texas senator was an outspoken advocate for increasing legal immigration, particularly for highly skilled immigrants. He called legal immigration "a pillar of our nation's heritage and strength" and introduced amendments to double the cap on legal immigration and increase the number of high-skilled immigrant visas by 500 percent.
Perhaps most radically in the new plan, Cruz says he would halt “any increases in legal immigration so long as American unemployment remains unacceptably high.” He would also enforce the “public-charge” doctrine, which would force immigrants to certify they are self-sufficient before they are given permission to live in the U.S. “The purpose of legal immigration should be to grow the economy, not displace American workers,” he said. “Under no circumstances should legal immigration levels be adjusted upwards so long as work-force participation rates remain below historical levels.”
He would also take steps to pass legislation or pursue a constitutional amendment to end “birthright citizenship,” which grants citizenship to any child born on U.S. soil.
Cruz also said he will “end President Obama’s illegal amnesty” by rescinding any executive orders allowing people who are here illegally to stay, and end any federal support for cities with so-called “sanctuary policies” which he said “make a mockery of our laws and endanger our citizens.”
On Syrian refugees, Cruz was unequivocal. "They need to be settled in the Middle East and majority Muslim countries," not in the U.S., where "it makes no sense whatsoever." He suggested that most of the refugees entering Europe from the war zones are "young men" and among them could be members of the Islamic State.
"It is lunacy to bring refugees into this country who may be terrorists trying to murder Americans," he said.
Eagles of Death Metal members escape Paris terror attack
The members of the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal were able to escape the Paris concert venue where their performance was interrupted by a terror attack that killed dozens of concertgoers.
The precise number of dead at the Bataclan concert hall in the eastern part of Paris has not been confirmed, but the latest estimates from city officials estimated that at least 87 people were killed by gunmen who sprayed bullets into the crowd, then began slaughtering those who had been unable to escape.
A U.S. official confirmed to the Associated Press that all members of the band were safe and accounted for. The Los Angeles Times, citing someone close to the band, also reported that the band members were unharmed, but one person working with the band was killed and another was wounded.
A man identified as Michael Dorio, the brother of the band’s drummer Julian Dorio, told WSB-TV in Atlanta that his brother had escaped the theater.
"He said they were playing, about six songs into the show, and they heard, before they saw anything, they heard automatic machine gunfire. And it was so loud, it was louder than the band, and they all hit the stage floor,” the man identified as Michael Dorio told WSB. “And as they got up to try to evacuate they saw men with machine guns just shooting anything and everything in the venue.”
"Fifteen hundred people, Julian said, was about the capacity of the venue. I don't know if it was seated or standing but Julian, the lead singer and some of the crew, there was a door back of the stage that led to a street and they flew out the back door," he said.
Julian Dorio’s wife told The Washington Post that her husband and other band members made it out alive.
"We are just holding our breath and saying prayers for everyone," Emily Dorio said. "[Julian] called to say that he loved me and he was safe. Everyone on stage was able to get off."
Earlier reports said the concert’s opening band at the Bataclan assured fans on its Facebook page that the Eagles of Death Metal band members were outside when the attacks occurred and escaped.
The Eagles of Death Metal was formed by musicians Jesse Hughes and John Homme and features a revolving lineup. Homme is reportedly not on the band’s European tour.
'Safe spaces' on college campuses run at odds with First Amendment, say law experts
Have we raised up a Nation of Idiots?
"I think the problem is they're trying to use this word 'safe' – which conveys the image of a violent attack – and turning it into safe from ideas and statements we find offensive," said UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh. "There is no right to be safe from that."
"That is directly contrary to what universities are all about," Volokh told FoxNews.com Friday.
"They want complete control over their personal lives, over their sex lives, over the use of drugs, but they want mommy and daddy dean to please give them a safe place, to protect them from ideas that maybe are insensitive, maybe will make them think."The controversy over such zones comes after a string of recent, racially-charged incidents at universities nationwide that -- while different -- share a common denominator: the promotion of a "PC culture" where real or perceived threatening thoughts or ideas should not be tolerated.
- attorney Alan Dershowitz
Such a heated debate played out on the campus of Yale University last week -- one over culturally sensitive Halloween costumes that was recorded in a video that has since gone viral.
On Oct. 30, Erika Christakis, Yale faculty member and associate "master" of Silliman College -- a residential community within the university -- sent an e-mail to students in which she questioned an earlier missive by the university that urged students to "take the time to consider their [Halloween] costumes and the impact it may have" -- including feathered headdresses, turbans, wearing "war paint" or changing the color of one's skin tone.
"Dear Sillimanders," Christakis' e-mail began. "I don’t wish to trivialize genuine concerns about cultural and personal representation, and other challenges to our lived experience in a plural community. I know that many decent people have proposed guidelines on Halloween costumes from a spirit of avoiding hurt and offense. I laud those goals, in theory, as most of us do."
"But in practice, I wonder if we should reflect more transparently, as a community, on the consequences of an institutional (which is to say: bureaucratic and administrative) exercise of implied control over college students," Christaki said.
Referring to her husband, Silliman College "master" and Yale professor, Christakis added, "Nicholas says, if you don’t like a costume someone is wearing, look away, or tell them you are offended. Talk to each other. Free speech and the ability to tolerate offence are the hallmarks of a free and open society."
Christakis' e-mail spurred outrage among a large group of students at Yale, who staged a massive protest -- called the "March of Resiliency" -- during which they called for inclusiveness on the college campus. Students of color also confronted Nicholas Christakis -- in a video that has since been shared thousands of times on the Internet -- and accused him of not wanting to create a "safe space" for all students. Several of the students called for Christakis and his wife to resign from their posts at the university.
Samantha Harris, attorney and directory of police research for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education [FIRE], described Erika Christakis' note to students as a "thoughtfully-worded e-mail" that invited open, intellectual dialogue.
"Demanding that someone step down for expressing an opinion for which you disagree is patently illiberal," Harris told FoxNews.com.
"The idea that people have the right to absolute emotional comfort at all times is very troubling," she said. "And it's anti-intellectual."
"This is destructive to the university as a place for debate and the pursuit of truth," added Volokh. "If we allow this to happen -- as citizens, as alumni -- the results will be very bad for higher education and for the country."
"What I would say to people on the left, I would remind them that so many of the movements they hold dear got where they got because of free speech -- like the Civil Rights movement," he said. "The more you try to insulate yourself from contrary ideas, the weaker your arguments are going to be."
At the University of Missouri, meanwhile, racially-charged protests also led to the demand for "safe spaces"-- and energized students at other colleges, like Yale and Michigan, to advocate better treatment for black students. Missouri's president resigned Monday after protesters accused him of ignoring racial attacks on students.
Interim University of Missouri system's president Mike Middleton said he advocates such so-called safe zones but noted schools must walk a "delicate balance" between safe spaces and free speech rights.
"I think safe spaces are critical," Middleton said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. "I think students need spaces where they can feel comfortable. Where they can interact without fear."
"But I think if you’re asking in the context of first amendment and free speech issues, it’s a very delicate balance. Both are essential to our way of life in this country and the trick is to find that balance, the point where you are accommodating both interests as much as you can," Middleton said.
Other legal experts, like famed attorney Alan Dershowitz, went even further in criticizing the creation of safe zones on college campuses, arguing a "fog of fascism is descending quickly over many American universities."
"These are the same people who claim they are seeking diversity," Dershowitz told Fox News Thursday. "The last thing these students want is real diversity, diversity of ideas. They may want superficial diversity, diversity of gender, diversity of color, but they do not want diversity of ideas."
"It is the worst kind of hypocrisy," noted Dershowitz. "They want complete control over their personal lives, over their sex lives, over the use of drugs, but they want mommy and daddy dean to please give them a safe place, to protect them from ideas that maybe are insensitive, maybe will make them think."
"It is free speech for me, but not for thee," he said. "Universities should not tolerate this kind of hypocrisy, double standard."
At least 127 killed in ISIS terror attacks on Paris, French president says
Eight ISIS terrorists wielding AK-47s and wearing suicide belts carried out coordinated attacks at six sites around Paris Friday night, killing at least 127 people and wounding at least 180 others, France's president said Saturday.
Speaking after an emergency security meeting to plan his government's response, Francois Hollande declared three days of national mourning and raised France's security to its highest level. He described Friday's attacks, which produced the worst bloodshed in Paris since World War II, as an "act of war." Hollande said ISIS was "a terrorist army ... a jihadist army, against France, against the values that we defend everywhere in the world, against what we are: A free country that means something to the whole planet."
Hollande also vowed that France "will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group" and promised his government would "act by all means anywhere, inside or outside the country." France is already bombing ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition, and has troops fighting extremists in Africa.
Less than an hour after Hollande's statement, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement that described Paris as "the carrier of the banner of the Cross in Europe" and described the attackers as "eight brothers wrapped in explosive belts and armed with machine rifles."
"Let France and those who walk in its path know that they will remain on the top of the list of targets of the IS," the statement also read, in part, "and that the smell of death will never leave their noses as long as they lead the convoy of the Crusader campaign."
Friday's attack was the deadliest terror atrocity to befall a Western European city since a series of train bombings in Madrid, Spain killed 191 people on March 11, 2004.
The most horrifying scene took place at the Bataclan concert hall near the center of Paris, where authorities said four attackers sprayed bullets into a crowd watching a performance by the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal. Reuters reported that the latest estimate from a Paris city hall official was that at least 87 people had died at the venue, though earlier reports suggested that as many as 118 concert-goers were killed.
The bloodshed prompted Hollande to declare a state of emergency, order the deployment of 1,500 troops around Paris and announce renewed border checks along frontiers that are normally open under Europe's free-travel zone.
The uncertain atmosphere in Paris was heightened by the city government's announcement that many of its public places would be closed Saturday. The city's official Twitter account posted a message saying "schools, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools, [and] public markets" would be among the metropolitan amenities shut down. Disneyland Paris, one of Europe's most popular attractions, announced that it would be closed Saturday "in light of the recent tragic events in France and in support of our community and the victims of these horrendous attacks."
The near-simultaneous assaults began at approximately 9:30 p.m. local time Friday (3:30 p.m. EST), when gunfire exploded outside of a restaurant in a trendy area east of the center of Paris known as Little Cambodia. It was the first of a series of attacks on a string of popular cafes, crowded on the unusually balmy Friday night. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters at least 37 people were killed in those shootings.
“There are lots of dead people," said a witness believed to have been at the bar of a restaurant that was the scene of one attack. "It’s pretty horrific to be honest. I was at the back of the bar. I couldn’t see anything. I heard gunshots. People dropped to the ground. We put a table over our heads to protect us."
A few moments later, three suicide bombs targeted locations around the Stade de France, the country's national stadium in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis, where Hollande had joined almost 80,000 soccer fans to watch an international friendly between France and Germany. A police union official told the Associated Press that at least three people were killed as a result of those blasts.
Hollande was rushed from the stadium after the first explosion, as initial reports of the attacks trickled in. However, the match was not stopped and several thousand fans went onto the field after France's 2-0 win, apparently believing it was the safest place in the midst of the unfolding terror. Supporters were eventually allowed to leave the stadium in small groups, and some were caught on video singing France's national anthem as they left the venue.
Four attackers then stormed the Bataclan, where concert-goers described a horrifying scene. Witnesses said the attackers toted Kalashnikovs and wore flak jackets as they fired indiscriminately into the crowd. Some survivors claimed the men shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "This is for Syria" as they fired.
Graphic video shot from an apartment balcony and posted on the Le Monde newspaper's website Saturday captured some of the horror as dozens of people fled from gunfire outside the concert hall down a passageway to a side street.
The video shows at least one person writhing on the ground as scores more stream past, some of them bloodied or limping. The camera pans down the street to reveal more fleeing people dragging two bodies along the ground. Two other people can be seen hanging by their hands from upper-floor balcony railings in an apparent desperate bid to stay out of the line of fire.
“It looked like a battlefield, there was blood everywhere, there were bodies everywhere," Marc Coupris told the Guardian newspaper after being freed from the theater. "I was at the far side of the hall when shooting began. There seemed to be at least two gunmen. They shot from the balcony.
“I saw my final hour unfurl before me, I thought this was the end. I thought, 'I’m finished, I’m finished,'" Coupris said.
Sylvain, 38, collapsed in tears as he recounted the attack, the chaos, and his escape during a lull in gunfire. He spoke on condition that his full name not be used out of concern for his safety.
"I was watching the concert in the pit, in the midst of the mass of the audience," he told the Associated Press. "First I heard explosions, and I thought it was firecrackers."
"Very soon I smelled powder, and I understood what was happening. There were shots everywhere, in waves. I lay down on the floor. I saw at least two shooters, but I heard others talk. They cried, 'It's Hollande's fault.' I heard one of the shooters shout, 'Allahu Akbar'".
Sylvain was among dozens of survivors offered counseling and blankets in a municipal building set up as a crisis center.
The carnage inside the music venue ended around midnight local time when French police stormed the building. As police closed in, three detonated explosive belts, killing themselves, according to Paris police spokesman Michel Cadot. Another attacker detonated a suicide bomb on Boulevard Voltaire, near the music hall, the prosecutor's office said.
“There are lots of dead people. It’s pretty horrific to be honest."A U.S. military and intelligence source told Fox News the coordinated attacks likely required "months of planning," based on their sheer number, the locations including a site where the president was present and the variety of weapons used.
- Witness to attack on restaurant
Asked if any Americans were hurt or killed, a French diplomat told Fox News that given the venues and the number of people caught up in the tragedy, the victims “are not going to be all French.” The State Department said it was seeking to establish the whereabouts of 70 U.S. citizens known to be in France, but had not received word that any Americans had been killed in the attacks.
President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters in Washington, decried an "attack on all humanity and the values that we share," calling the Paris violence an "outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians."
A U.S. official briefed by the Justice Department says intelligence officials were not aware of any threats before Friday's attacks.
The violence raises questions about security for the millions of tourists who come to Paris — and for world events the French capital routinely hosts.
Some 80 heads of state, including possibly Obama, are expected for a critical climate summit in two weeks. In June, France is to host the European soccer championship — with the Stade de France a major venue.
And Paris-based UNESCO is expecting world leaders Monday for a forum about overcoming extremism. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani canceled a trip because of Friday's attacks. Hollande canceled a planned trip to this weekend's G-20 summit in Turkey.
Related Image
The soccer stadium where a match between France and Germany was going on as the attack began is shown.
Terror struck in Paris near the same neighborhood earlier this year, when two Islamic radical gunmen stormed the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 and wounding 11. The gunmen, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, struck to avenge Muslims for the magazine’s publication of cartoons that they believed mocked the Prophet Mohammed. The brothers were killed two days later after a manhunt was capped when police shot the two in a standoff in Dammartin-en-Goele.
During the dragnet, Amedy Coulibaly, an associate of the pair, attacked a Jewish grocery store in Paris, taking more than a dozen hostage and killing four. Coulibaly had killed a policewoman the day before. Couliably was killed when police stormed the kosher market.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Administration takes heat for downgrading religious freedom post
The Obama administration is facing new questions on Capitol Hill over its commitment to religious freedom posts, after the State Department -- in defiance of Congress -- appeared to downgrade a diplomatic position created to help persecuted minorities.
The Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act, passed on a bipartisan vote last year, authorized the creation of a "special envoy" to advocate for the protection of at-risk religious minorities in the region. It came amid mounting reports of ISIS terrorists beheading Christians and religious minorities being abused throughout the Middle East.
But the appointment was delayed more than a year. And when Secretary of State John Kerry finally and quietly named Knox Thames to the post, the title was changed to "special adviser."
The distinction matters because special envoys would report to Kerry, while Thames' "adviser" position reports to the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein.
"The administration said that persecution of religious minorities was a priority, but they waited over a year to pick a person to fill the role of special envoy and when they finally selected someone, they appointed them to a much lower position that limits the engagement with the secretary," Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said in an interview with FoxNews.com.
Within the U.S. State Department, there already are 49 special envoys appointed to address a range of "key foreign policy objectives," including climate change, the closure of Guantanamo Bay, protecting LGBT rights and fostering Muslim cooperation.
Why Thames, who previously worked at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, was not also installed as a special envoy is unclear.
The State Department did not return a request for comment.
Concerned about the level of commitment to international religious freedom, Lankford last month sent a letter to Kerry asking him to explain why bipartisan calls for a special envoy were ignored. To date, no response has been received.
The decision not to appoint a special envoy may have implications that are more than symbolic.
"The practical implication is that [Thames] does not have the ear of the secretary of state or the president. Instead of having a direct line to Kerry or the president, the position is lost in the bureaucracy, which limits any ability he has to respond to emergency situations in the Middle East -- an area where it is becoming clear that you are seeing genocide occurring," said Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute.
Shea says not having the authority and prominence afforded by the special envoy designation makes it difficult to trigger a higher-level response to critical issues, including ongoing discrimination against Syrian Christians seeking refugee status in the U.S.
Shea worked with Thames when both were at the USCIRF, which was created to monitor religious freedom violations globally and make policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state, and Congress.
According to Shea, in the five years since the beginning of the war in Syria, only 53 Syrian Christian refugees, or 2.6 percent of a total 2,003 Syrian refugees, have been allowed to enter the U.S.
Lankford also is seeking an explanation for why even Saperstein's position "is buried in layers of bureaucracy" and he does not report directly to the secretary like other ambassadors-at-large.
In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in October, Robert George, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, likewise urged the administration to furnish Saperstein's office with "resources and staff similar to other offices with global mandates, as well as with increased programmatic funds for religious freedom promotion and protection."
In addition to bucking Congress on the special envoy appointment, Lankford says, the administration did not include Saperstein in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, as required after the Senate unanimously approved an amendment stipulating religious freedom be taken into account whenever trade pacts are negotiated.
Further, USCIRF's George called on the Obama administration to use authority granted to the president by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act to designate countries that have "engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom" as "countries of particular concern," or CPCs.
The State Department has declined to consider Syria for a CPC designation, as has been repeatedly recommended by the independent USCIRF.
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