National security adviser John Bolton said Sunday that the Islamic State remains a threat and that it is “growing in other parts of the world” besides Syria and Iraq.
The statement by Bolton in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” is at odds with claims by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence late last year that the militant group, which is also known as ISIS, has been defeated.
“The president has been, I think, as clear as clear can be, when he talks about the defeat of the ISIS territorial caliphate,” Bolton said. “He has never said that the elimination of the territorial caliphate means the end of ISIS in total. We know that’s not the case.”
He added that Islamic State fighters are “scattered still around Syria and Iraq, and that ISIS itself is growing in other parts of the world. The ISIS threat will remain.”
(c) 2019, The Washington Post · Felicia Sonmez
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