The Hill – 11/15/15 – Republican presidential Jeb Bush wants the United States to bulk up its efforts against Islamic extremism, following Friday night’s massacre in Paris.
“This is a war and we should act accordingly,” the former governor of Florida said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“This is a fight for western civilization,” he added. “We need to be all in on it.”
In his interview, Bush attempted to draw a contrast both with the Obama administration, which he described as aimless and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
During Saturday evening’s Democratic debate, Clinton said that the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) “cannot be an American fight, although American leadership is essential.”
“It is our fight,” Bush retorted on Sunday.
His interview came on the heels of Friday night’s attack in Paris, where a series of coordinated strikes killed 129 people across the French capital.
“This is a warning to our country that this threat is not going to be going away,” Bush said on Sunday.
One of the people involved in the attacks had reportedly slipped into the country along with the millions of Syrian refugees streaming out of the country.
To respond, Bush called for “thorough screening and take a limited number” of immigrants.
He also called for establishing a safe zone in Syria, an option that the Obama administration has rejected.
Additionally, Bush said that the U.S. should focus its efforts on protecting Christians in Syria who “have no place now. They’ll be either executed or imprisoned, either by [Syrian leader Bashar al] Assad or by ISIS.”
“We should focus our efforts as it related to the refugees with the Christians that are being slaughtered,” Bush said.
