Pentagon Chief: ISIL Threat Bigger Than 9/11
Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:19PM GMT
presstv.ir
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says the Pentagon will continue its operations against the ISIL militants in Iraq, calling the group an “imminent threat” to the United States.
"They are as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen. They're beyond just a terrorist group," Hagel said on Thursday.
"This is beyond anything we've seen. We must prepare for everything," he added.
"They marry an ideology with a sophistication of strategy and military prowess" that "represents a whole new paradigm of threats to this country," he said.
“I doubt if there were many people that would have thought there was much of a threat the day before 9/11,” he said.
The Pentagon chief made the remarks at a joint press briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.
Hagel also defended the operation to rescue journalist James Foley and other hostages earlier this summer.
"This operation, by the way, was a flawless operation, but the hostages were not there," he said.
A grisly video confirmed as "authentic" by the White House showed an ISIL militant executing Foley in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iraq.
The video came almost one month after US President Barack Obama authorized the use of force against ISIL in northern Iraq.
The White House revealed on Wednesday that a US Special Operations team tried and failed to rescue Foley and other American hostages.
During the press briefing, Dempsey said containing the militants can't be done permanently without going after the group in Syria.
Dempsey said the problem must be addressed diplomatically, politically and militarily by America and its regional partners.
"This is an organization that has an apocalyptic, and of days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated," Dempsey told reporters.
"Can they be defeated without addressing that part of the organization that resides in Syria? The answer is no."
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| Obama and his warmongers gear-up for another Iraq war. |
presstv.ir
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says the Pentagon will continue its operations against the ISIL militants in Iraq, calling the group an “imminent threat” to the United States.
"They are as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen. They're beyond just a terrorist group," Hagel said on Thursday.
"This is beyond anything we've seen. We must prepare for everything," he added.
"They marry an ideology with a sophistication of strategy and military prowess" that "represents a whole new paradigm of threats to this country," he said.
“I doubt if there were many people that would have thought there was much of a threat the day before 9/11,” he said.
The Pentagon chief made the remarks at a joint press briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.
Hagel also defended the operation to rescue journalist James Foley and other hostages earlier this summer.
"This operation, by the way, was a flawless operation, but the hostages were not there," he said.
A grisly video confirmed as "authentic" by the White House showed an ISIL militant executing Foley in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iraq.
The video came almost one month after US President Barack Obama authorized the use of force against ISIL in northern Iraq.
The White House revealed on Wednesday that a US Special Operations team tried and failed to rescue Foley and other American hostages.
During the press briefing, Dempsey said containing the militants can't be done permanently without going after the group in Syria.
Dempsey said the problem must be addressed diplomatically, politically and militarily by America and its regional partners.
"This is an organization that has an apocalyptic, and of days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated," Dempsey told reporters.
"Can they be defeated without addressing that part of the organization that resides in Syria? The answer is no."
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