Obama sees hysteria and exaggeration in calls to halt refugee inflow

Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama gestures while reacting to a question about U.S. politicians opposed to taking in Syrian refugees as he delivers remarks after meeting with the Philippines President Benigno Aquino alongside the APEC summit in Manila, Philippines, November 18, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

MANILA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he saw "hysteria and exaggeration of risk" in some of the opposition by politicians at home to U.S. acceptance of more refugees from Syria. Speaking on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila, he said calls to halt the flow of refugees to the United States were aimed at scoring political points. "It needs to stop because the world is watching," Obama said. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)