http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/08/king-isil-more-powerful-than-al-qaeda-on-193707.html By NICK GASS |
8/10/14 10:51 AM EDT
Rep. Peter King said Sunday that the Islamic State poses a direct threat to the American homeland and is now more powerful than Al Qaeda was on Sept. 11, 2001. Responding to comments by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on NBC's "Meet the Press," King said the group doesn't just threaten stability in Iraq.
"They are more powerful now than Al Qaeda was on 9/11," he said, noting the loss of many of his constituents during the dual attacks on the World Trade Center.
Durbin told Gregory that any U.S. military action beyond airstrikes wouldn't be advisable.
"This is not just Iraq. ISIS is a direct threat to the United States of America, and what Dick Durbin just said and what President Obama has said, is really a shameful abdication of American leadership," King added.
King said the 2011 withdrawal of American troops in Iraq and President Obama's lack of desire to take further action reflects poorly upon the current situation.
"What a weak leader," King said. "Can you imagine Winston Churchill or Franklin Roosevelt or Harry Truman (doing that)?"
