A Security Council resolution following President Obama’s speech commits all nations to international standards that would block terrorists from recruiting and training, traveling and getting funding. Member of the House Armed Services Committee, United States Representative Frank LoBiondo told NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams that the airstrikes in Syria are not going to be enough to stop the terrorist groups.
LoBiondo said that he did not get a chance to hear Obama’s speech but he received a recap of it and he is very pleased that Obama is saying what he calls the right things. He said that he thought Obama said the right things two weeks ago in his initial address but every day that is lost now is a day that brings the United States closer to bigger trouble.
“These terrorist groups, especially ISIL, they are not operating separately. For the first time in history we are dealing with a terrorist state with ISIL. They are not a terror sponsored state, they are terror state. They have a minister of communications, a minister of finance. They have got revenue every day from $1 million to $3 million a day in oil revenue and they are a formidable terrorist state with an army. And the other groups that we are seeing are all linking together,” said LoBiondo. “If this linkage becomes any more solid, the threat that we have now which is substantial will become even greater. We have no time to waste here in getting after this.”
LoBiondo is on the House Intelligence Committee and he said that he was asked by the leadership of the committee to focus on the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. He said that one month ago he was asked to go back to get a series of questions answered from a ground perspective in Africa and how they are creating their terror network to link in with others. He said that the threat is very real and the United States is behind the curve in getting after these bad people, who if given the opportunity, could inflict a great deal of bloodshed and damage on the United States.
LoBiondo said the current air campaign in Syria will be successful if Obama allows the generals to pick the targets and Obama stops doing “pin pricks” and make it a real campaign. He said that the U.S. has the capacity and it looks like with the partners that are joining in, the U.S. can inflict operational damage on the leadership of ISIS, Khorasan and other groups but if the U.S. is going to do it piecemeal, the job isn’t going to get done.
U.S. intelligence has been tracking the al-Qaida offshoot Khorasan and there is warning that the group is in an “execution phase” for a possible attack in the U.S. or Europe. When asked if the airstrikes are going to be enough, LoBiondo said no. He said that Obama’s promised coalition, which will be crucial to be the force multiplier in this effort, remains to be seen. He said that has to be a commitment by the coalition partners to put their boots on the ground to supplement and hold ground that the U.S. is taking with the airstrikes. He said that the United States is in a very crucial phase right now and if the United States is not extremely aggressive in developing the coalition and doing the maximum damage from the air, which the U.S. has the capability to do, the U.S. is leaving itself at an even greater risk.
Congress is in recess right now. LoBiondo said that Congress has given Obama the authority that he requested. He said that many members of Congress supported it but they have apprehensions because Obama has not laid out a very specific strategy. He said that Obama is going to have to go back to Congress in November or December so members can see how his policies are working and if his strategy with the coalition is developed to the point that it will make a difference. He said that Congress will control the purse strings on this.