‘We Have Contained Them’: Obama Claimed That ISIS Was ‘Contained’ Just Hours Before The Deadly Paris Attack
Just hours before the massive ISIS terrorist attack in Paris which left over 120 people dead, United States President Barack Obama claimed that the Islamic State had been “contained.” The interview with George Stephanopoulos aired just hours before the attack, which left the world in shock and many wondering if the president was out of touch with what was happening with the terrorist organization.
The Daily Mail reports that President Barack Obama is under fire after he prematurely stated that the Islamic State had been “contained.” In an interview with ABC News, Obama said that he did not believe the terrorist organization was growing and instead made claims that the organization was shrinking. He went so far as to say that the first goal of the U.S. military has been to “contain” the problem and that “they have been contained.”
“What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them.”
Though Obama said the organization was contained, he did leave some wiggle room in his statements as he noted that the military has not been able to “completely decapitate ISIS”.
“What we have not yet been able to do is to completely decapitate their command and control structures.”
Obama even noted in his interview that it was time to recruit more Sunni partners to help go on the offensive against the terrorist group instead of remaining on the defensive. However, it appears from the Paris Islamic State attacks that we may not have gone on the offensive quickly enough. Therefore, many have spoken out against the president’s statements, noting that he was out of touch with the situation for even making the claims that ISIS had been “contained.”
President Obama said “ISIL continues to shrink” in an interview just hours before the horrible attack in Paris. He is just so bad! CHANGE.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2015
Another day, another lie. ICYMI from just this morning: “Obama Downplays ISIS Threat: ‘We Have Contained Them'” https://t.co/4RazYFS80m — Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) November 14, 2015
In a bid to put President Obama’s statement in perspective, a senior military official spoke with CNN and noted that we will have “good days” and “bad days” regarding the Islamic State and their terrorist acts. However, others have pointed out that this isn’t the first time Obama has underestimated the terrorist group. In fact, Obama once said that the Islamic State was al-Qaeda’s JV team, seemingly discrediting the organization’s ability to grow. However, a short time later, ISIS is a powerhouse on the terrorism front and pulled off a coordinated terror attack that amounted to the most deaths in France since WWII.
In response to the attacks, French President François Hollande called it an “act of war.” Hollande says he will respond “mercilessly” towards the Islamic State in retaliation. Meanwhile, the Islamic State is taking full responsibility for the attack and claims that France was at the top of their list of targets.
“Let France and those who walk in its path know that they will remain on the top of the list of targets of the IS and that the smell of death will never leave their noses as long as they lead the convoy of the Crusader campaign.”
President Barack Obama’s response to the terror attacks in Paris can be watched above. Despite learning that one of the terrorists responsible for the Paris attacks was in the country on Syrian refugee status, the United States has not made any mention of reevaluating plans to allow Syrian refugees to seek a safe haven here in the United States. In fact, it was reported that the first batch of Syrian refugees arrived in New Orleans today in what many are describing as ironic timing.
[Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/ Getty Images]
