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 But Carson, one of the leaders in the polls in the contest for the
Republican presidential nomination in 2016, offered few details in a
round of television interviews from Jordan about how he would work
to defeat Islamic State militants and stabilize Syria to enable the
refugees' return.
After meeting with refugees at a camp in Jordan, Carson, 64, told
CNN that "their true desire is to be resettled in Syria."
"But they are satisfied to be in the refugee camps if the refugee
camps are adequately funded. Recognize that in these camps they have
schools, they have recreational facilities that are really quite
nice. And there (are) all kind of things that make life more
tolerable," he added.
Speaking from Jordan, told ABC's "This Week" program: "We're hearing
that they all want to come here to the United States, and that's not
what they want. They want to go back home."
 Carson also defended comments he made earlier this month in which he
compared Americans' attitude toward Syrian refugees to fears of a
rabid dog.
"The Syrians and the people here completely understood what I was
saying," Carson told NBC's "Meet the Press." "It's only the news
media in our country that thinks that you're calling Syrians dogs.
They understand here that we're talking about the jihadists, the
Islamic terrorists."
Carson and other Republican presidential candidates have criticized
President Barack Obama's plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees over
the next year, citing the risk that militants could slip through.
The Obama administration has emphasized the refugee program vetting
process.
The White House on Sunday declined to comment on Carson's remarks.
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A retired neurosurgeon who has faced scrutiny over his foreign
policy credentials, Carson visited the Zaatari camp for refugees
fleeing Syria's civil war, and said he also spoke with medical
personnel, humanitarian workers and government officials.
In the ABC interview, Carson called for increased U.S. aid for
regional refugee efforts such as those in Jordan.
"I believe that the right policy is to support the refugee program
that is in place, that works extremely well but does not have
adequate funding," Carson said. "If you do that, you solve that
problem without exposing the American people to a population that
could be infiltrated with terrorists who want to destroy us."
Carson said that Islamic State should be defeated quickly and
criticized the current U.S. strategy as "piecemeal."
"I think we need to work in close conjunction with our Department of
Defense, with our Pentagon, with our experts. Ask them what do you
need in order to accomplish this? And then, let's make a decision,"
he told NBC.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Alan Crosby and Jonathan
Oatis)
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