Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says ISIS has become the “preeminent global terrorist threat,” surpassing Al Qaeda.
Tuesday, during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Clapper said, “ISIL’s leaders are determined to strike the US homeland beyond inspiring homegrown extremist attacks.”
James Clapper: ISIL, including its eight established and several more emerging branches has become the preeminent global terrorist threat. They’ve attempted or conducted scores of attacks outside of Syria and Iraq in the past 15 months. ISIL’s estimated strength worldwide exceeds that of Al Qaeda. ISIL’s leaders are determined to strike the US homeland beyond inspiring homegrown extremist attacks. Although the US is a much harder target than Europe, ISIL external operations remain a critical factor is our threat assessments for 2016.
In November 2015, the day of the Paris terrorist attack, President Obama claimed that ISIS was not gaining strength and was “contained.” (RELATED: Obama: ISIS Not Gaining Strength [VIDEO])
Hours before the San Bernardino terrorist attack in December 2015, Obama downplayed the threat ISIS poses again. (RELATED: Déjà Vu: Obama Said ISIS Is Not An ‘Existential Threat’ Hours Before San Bernardino Attack [VIDEO])
WATCH: