WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough: 'We Are at War With ISIL'

WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough: 'We Are at War With ISIL'

Sunday, 14 Sep 2014 12:30 PM

By Sandy Fitzgerald

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/white-house-McDonough-fight-ISIS/2014/09/14/id/594517/

Success against the growing threat of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) will mean curbing the insurgents so they no longer pose danger, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Sunday, and unlike President Barack Obama, he referred to the fight as "war," not a counter-terrorism exercise.

"Success looks like an ISIL that no longer threatens our friends, can't accumulate followers and threaten Muslims in Syria, Iraq, or otherwise," McDonough told NBC "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd. "And that's exactly what success looks like."

To achieve that, the United States will wage a counter-terrorism fight like those in Yemen and Somalia, "where we will take the fight to our enemies without putting our ground troops into the effort," McDonough said, echoing President Barack Obama's prime-time speech last week.

He admitted, like many military experts, that ground troops are needed, but pointed out to Todd that Obama's plan calls for training opposition troops in Iraq and Syria to handle the ground battles.

"That's why we want to make sure that this coalition brings Sunnis to the fight," said McDonough, who appeared not only on the NBC program, but also on ABC, FOX, and CNN's Sunday news shows to discuss the ongoing ISIS situation.

There has been some disagreement on whether to term the fight against ISIS as a war or as a counterterrorism exercise, as President Barack Obama termed the matter in his prime-time address last Wednesday.

"This isn't [about] talking points, but [it's] very serious business," McDonough told ABC "This Week" host Martha Raddatz. "We believe just as we have been at war with al Qaida since the day we got here, here we are at war with ISIL."

Meet the Press

Barbara Cochran was an executive producer for Meet the Press, and the VP for the NPR.

Note: Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NPR, the Center for American Progress, the International Rescue Committee, and the Robin Hood Foundation.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a benefactor for the NPR, and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Denis McDonough was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and is the chief of staff; former deputy national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Tom Brokaw is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, was a director at the Robin Hood Foundation, and the interim host for Meet the Press.