Refugees are Not Terrorists: HRW Decries Efforts to Reject People Fleeing Wars in Syria & Iraq

Friday’s deadly attacks in Paris have set off a storm of calls to close borders and reject refugees fleeing Syria, where over 4 million people have already left the war-torn country. President Obama said any attempts to block entry of Syrian refugees to the United States is "offensive and contrary to American values." "When individuals say that we should have a religious test and that only Christians—proven Christians—should be admitted, that’s offensive and contrary to American values," Obama said. "I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for ISIL than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate." We speak to Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch’s emergencies director. He has spent the last few months in the Balkans and Greece speaking to refugees coming mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Democracynow.org - Democracy Now!, is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,300+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9am ET: http://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: http://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: Facebook:   / democracynow   Twitter:   / democracynow   YouTube:    / democracynow   SoundCloud:   / democracynow   Daily Email: http://democracynow.org/subscribe Google+: https://plus.google.com/+DemocracyNow Instagram:   / democracynow   Tumblr: http://democracynow.tumblr Pinterest:   / democracynow   iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo... TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/Democracy-Now... Stitcher Radio: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/democ...