Obama adviser: Refugee plan proceeding despite Paris attacks

President Obama still plans to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country over the next year, despite terrorist attacks in Paris, at top aide said Sunday.

{mosads}“We’re still planning on taking in Syrian refugees,” White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We had very robust vetting procedures for those refugees.”

“There are women and children, orphans of this war, and I think we need to do our along with our allies to provide them a safe haven,” he added.

Rhodes said France should take the lead in how to respond to the attacks that left 129 dead in Paris on Friday. At least one of the Paris terrorists reportedly entered France by posing as a migrant.

“I think we would stand shoulder to shoulder with France in whatever decision they make,” he said. “In any case, we’re going to be cooperating with them militarily going forward.”

Rhodes said he does not envision a U.S. ground campaign in Syria.

“We do not believe that there is a solution to the challenge in Syria or Iraq that involves significant numbers of U.S. combat troops going in,” he said.

The White House adviser said he expects the U.S. to continue air strikes and other activities in the region.

“I think what you are going to see is continued intensification of the air campaign, the type of leadership strikes that we’ve taken in recent days, as against Jihadi John in Syria, more direct equipment and arming of opposition forces that are fighting on the ground in both Syria and Iraq,” he said.