It’s not fear mongering. It’s not sensationalism. It’s radical Islamic terrorism. Our policy of hope with foreign relations is not working. Hope ran through the streets of Paris last week with assault rifles and bombs.

I am sure there are many good people among the Syrian refugees seeking asylum. I am sure many would be better off in Iowa. However, there are also jihadists among them. Inviting them to our nation defies reason. The Islamic State group exists whether or not we say its name. It wants to kill us. It does not want us to not take refugees. It will send jihadists with the refugees, and it will attack us here in our home. If you think that to reject refugees means the terrorists win, I disagree with you.

I think the terrorists win if we settle them in Iowa, and they kill our friends and neighbors in Des Moines and across our state. I would prefer that Kevin Cooney reported on big traffic accidents instead of a mass murder at Jordan Creek mall.

Our nation seems to have forgotten 9/11. This false sense of security makes it difficult to fathom that a person could be motivated to kill you out of ideological hatred. This is not an academic scenario. This is a reality.

If our forefathers had fled to France due to British oppression instead of facing their enemy in their home, we would not have this county. Hope is free, but freedom is not. Instead of giving refugees $1,000 and an apartment in Paton, Iowa, we should be giving them rifles and sincere prayers.