Hours after news broke that jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has seized three more towns in Iraq, President Obama appeared in a pre-taped interview on CBS's "Face the Nation on Sunday, saying that the "extreme ideology" of ISIS "poses a medium and long-term threat" to America.
However, Obama added that "there are a lot of groups out there that probably have more advanced immediate plans directed against the United States that we have to be on constant guard for."
The president cautioned against reacting too quickly without a strategy in place. "What we can't do is think that we're just going to play Whac-a-Mole and send U.S. troops occupying various countries wherever these organizations pop up," he said. "We're going to have to have a more focused, more targeted strategy, and we're going to have to partner and train local law enforcement and military to do their jobs as well."
"This is going to be a global challenge, and one that the United States is going to have to address," he continued, adding, "we're not going to be able to address it alone."
Excerpts from the interview aired on Friday's "CBS Evening News," Sunday's "Face the Nation," and will air on "CBS This Morning" on Monday.
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