Hi All,
This is information via my brother who was recently in Syria. I'm not able to explain why he was in Syria other than to say that it was for humanitarian purposes. Also, he returned just last week so this information is current, he is a U.S. citizen and I do have his permission to make this post.
He explained to me the process in which some Syrians receive travel papers/passports.
Syria does not have vast, accurate databases full of citizen data, as the U.S. does.
They do have some type of computerized system but those that work in these offices adhere to very few security measures. This is mostly due to corruption. No surprise.
If a person needs an alias I.D., they simply bribe the clerk. And voila, they now have a new name and verifiable documents. He said that it is a tragic situation on many levels. The clerk's family might not have food or money for medicine, so they gladly accept bribes. It is so commonplace that the practice isn't significantly hidden.
What is so terrifying about this is that the papers aren't fraudulent. They are 100% legit papers granted by the Syrian government.
So sure, we can vet the refugees coming into the U.S., but there is no way to know who these people really are.
However, it was his impression that ISIS doesn't have much of a need for bribes or sending people overseas - for two reasons. 1) The cells are already in the U.S./EU and 2) ISIS has great confidence in their ability to recruit within the U.S./EU.
His thoughts for a solution are two-fold. Firstly, the U.S. should temporarily halt Syrian immigration. Not because it will prevent terrorism but because U.S. citizens need this for their peace of mind. Secondly, implement programs within existing immigrant populations to prevent radicalization from happening.
Thought you might like to hear his account of things.