I remember reading a story about a 'sleeper cell' terrorist who came to America/Europe.

He was terribly gung ho. And then he got a girlfriend and had sex. And he had more sex. And he realized he could have bacon.

Next thing you know, he was burning his sim card and getting in with Achmed to buy a gas station in Lodi NJ.

When you come from a life of suckage with only the echo chamber, being a freedom fighter sounds great.

While I appreciate the danger, I think that quite a few of them are going to be hitting Amsterdam, waking up with no money and the scent of beer and MJ on their breath...and trying to figure out how they can do that again!

Just like most normal people

So about 2% and probably 2% more support them. And maybe 2% of those switch as FIDO suggests, though I've never heard of any. Then basic math of the 10,000 coming to the US, 200 ISIS 200 supporters, and maybe 8 of them switching to MJ. So 392 still to worry about.

MJ?

Fido - the 9-11 killers also were sleeper cells, living the "good life" in the USA. Maybe there were more of them who gave up the martyrdom way; but, as Joe points out - it doesn't take that many to cause terror.

I would assume at this point that the financial backers are betting the numbers on some not following through with terror plans and so are upping the number of terrorists they send through.

In my opinion, the only way to really prevent this is to stop ALL "refugees" from coming through. I've said it before, let the rich Gulf states do more. It is, after all, their neck of the woods and should be more of their problem, not ours.

MJ: Can I assume that means "Mary Jane," not Michael Jackson?

I assume MJ is Mary Jane aka marijuana.

let the rich Gulf states do more

they probably won't. If Allah punishes somebody, why should a human help them? is the though process there

No refugees to Middle East no money from us and bank transfers of their upper political status stopped.

Of course this would be easier to do if we were only self-sufficient energy wise, but that would be bad for Mother Earth.

Don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting large cruise ships full of Syrians be brought to America. Europe did essentially nothing but wring it's hands or profiteer for decades during the Assad regime. They have been dismissive of Iranian meddling in the region and wanted to cut off sanctions for a LONG time.

So honestly, I see a lot of Karma in Europe being pennywise and pound foolish in international relations. They have been willfully blind about how dangerous Islam has historically been and is proving to be again. Hell, Vienna STILL has cannon balls in their walls from the last time the Turk stopped by.

But...terrorism isn't as easy as people make it out to be and suicide bombers are hard to create.

Why do you need suicide bombers, FIDO? Al qaeda and other Muslim terror groups have been bombing things in the US for years. Yes, they usually get caught. But that has more to do with their own incompetence and their choice of targets.

"So honestly, I see a lot of Karma in Europe being pennywise and pound foolish in international relations. "

This I totally agree with. It's the wages of what Europe has been doing for years, with its willingness to look the other way at sanctions and deal with almost anyone in the region, no matter how pernicious that entity might be. Too often, western Europe has viewed international sanctions routines not as an obligation, but as simply an opportunity to cash in on a market with no competition.

The thing about the immigrants: Europe doesn't do that well at assimilation. Their national identities are still wrapped up in ethnicities. It's a truism, but still true, that if you aren't born in France, you can never be truly French no matter how long you live there. The culture will always view you as an interloper. Immigrants in Europe tend to confine themselves to their own Chinatowns; they don't get out and mingle with the population, and they discourage outsiders from entering areas that they control. This also makes it easier for cell commanders to keep tabs on them. We in America do somewhat better because we don't carry the notion that birth is cultural destiny, although we have our Dearborns too.

I am very, very worried about this whole situation.

The only way I see out is if the US swallows its pride and works with Iran and Russia to stabilize Assad's regime which is the lesser of two evils.

Although if that pipeline theory is true, then the US WANTS to destabilize Syria.

I don't know. It's so complicated and there are so many threads.

I know that Europe can't take in everyone who wants to come.

What's weird is there are so many fatalistic people here who say things like, "We might as well let them in, we can't stop them from coming. Yes, it looks like European culture is finished but c'est la vie", and they shrug. That is the dinner party conversation I've been subjected to lately.

Obviously the American half of me has imbibed me with a fiestier spirit than that.

I think Europe is home to many great cultures, worth preserving, and impulsively letting in a massive migration without thinking through and preparing for the ramifications is a terrible idea.

Is this applicable in the ME now if you replaced "communist" w/"radical Islam"?

"The domino theory, which governed much of U.S. foreign policy beginning in the early 1950s, held that a communist victory in one nation would quickly lead to a chain reaction of communist takeovers in neighboring states."

The whole thing that gets me about this is something I never see mentioned. When we see photos and film of these refugees, the vast majority of them are hale and hearty young men. The women and children fleeing I can see. But these young men? Are they all that cowardly that they won't stand and fight for their country? If they banded together they'd be a mighty force. I just don't get it.

You are making a number of mistakes Hegwynne.

1. Syrians don't have western nationalism. I am not putting them down or calling them cowards or even saying they are disloyal in any way. The reality is Syria has been run by one family, Assad's, since the 1970's. Effectively Syria has been their property. Other Syrians don't have the ownership stake like citizens of western democracies do. They don't fight for their nation because it isn't their nation. It is Assad's.

2. Many of the 'Syrian refugees' depicted on TV are not refugees or even Syrian. A large number are economic migrants just looking for a better life. There is no reason for Turks to fight for Syria.

Bob, I don't think so, but I do think it is fair to say that any ME dictator that gets toppled is likely to be replaced by someone more hardcore Islamic, rather than a nice Western Democracy type.

Ben's right, a lot of the migrants are Afghani, Iraqi, or Eritrean.

Nicole, that is what Bob was trying to say. When one western democracy falls to Islamists it's neighbors are more likely to fall as well. Personally I don't know. ISIS has the same issue as Hilary Clinton. Their success is a lot of their draw. So once they can't expand they run the risk on imploding. This was also true for communism. But I don't think it is true for Islamofascists in general.