ISIS - Obama Presidency Oral History Back ISIS Index / Organizations Transcripts Jeh Johnson ...al-Shabaab, and then, of course, later, ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria]—an... ...“You left too soon, you know, we got the Islamic State .” But he really wanted to force tha... ...for another armed conflict against the Islamic State , but it was thrust upon us in 2014... ...States during the current crisis with ISIS . And when challenged about th... Josh Earnest ...we were doing to contain the threat of ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] an... ...national security risk that is posed by ISIS and al-Qaeda, and extremists that ma... Harry Reid ...the foreign policy front had to do with ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria]. Yo... ...of Iraq and Syria]. You called for an ISIS czar, as the threat of ISIS escalate... ...for an ISIS czar, as the threat of ISIS escalated in 2015 and 2016. How did yo... ...and 2016. How did you decide to move on ISIS legislation? I felt that ISIS to m... ...move on ISIS legislation? I felt that ISIS to me were like cockroaches. You pu... ...have someone that would focus just on ISIS , rather than have the Pentagon do it... ...did. But they were—times change, and ISIS would come and go, the focus on th... Show more... Jeffrey Feltman ...or not that was wise, given the rise of ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant... ...that was wise, given the rise of ISIL [ Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ] later, but during the election yea... James Clapper ...need to— Well, I mean obviously ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant... ...to— Well, I mean obviously ISIS [ Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , also known as Islamic State of Ira... ...the same time that we see the rise of the Islamic State [of Iraq and the Levant, also known a... ...what was unique or different, about the Islamic State in the summer of 2014. I think wha... ...if you will, about the prowess of the Islamic State militarily was occasioned more by th... ...the Iraqis. I think we had pointed out ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria], an... ...it wasn't so much what great fighters ISIS was as much as how poorly the Iraqi... ...were completely cowed, intimidated by ISIS , and, of course, that got played u... ...the tremendous fighting capability of ISIS . Well, it wasn't so much their prowes... ...believe it was not attributed to the Islamic State —but the attack in Paris in December o... Show more... John Brennan ...conflict as a result of the growth of ISIS , the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria... ...as a result of the growth of ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and how tha... ...and earlier you were referred to ISIS , and I think we should spend a fe... ...How was the challenge posed by ISIS different? Al-Qaeda was a... ...to establish itself there. But the ISIS phenomenon, it happened relativel... ...under pressure. So, quickly, ISIS was not just a terrorist organization... ...was making very good progress against ISIS . But when you have weak centra... ...and putting the type of pressure on ISIS that ultimately led to its demise—no... ...We were very concerned about what ISIS might do to try to launch attacks... ...of attempts and a number of attacks. ISIS was much more sophisticated and capabl... ...to identify who within this broader ISIS constituency had responsibility fo... ...there was somebody who was involved in ISIS -sponsored terrorist plans. But then... ...a strategy of attrition against ISIS , in trying to chip away at them. I... ...that complicate crafting a response to ISIS and the challenge of the Syrian Civi... ...But it also strikes me that the rise of ISIS in the second term, and the increasin... ...organizations that were aligned with ISIS in places like East Africa and Wes... Show more... Hadi Pir ...for many Westerners, the moment that ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria... ...you remember about your awareness of ISIS during that time. You said you wer... ...and I told him these are the areas that ISIS already took over, that everybody know... ...of them to leave, because I knew what ISIS was going to do exactly when they reac... ...to do exactly when they reach them. ISIS were trying to send the message tha... ...they come down, they would be killed by ISIS . If they stayed, they would just di... ...Two of them got killed fighting ISIS in the south. I mean, everybody was i... ...area between, it's been taken over by ISIS , but in Rabia there is the Shamma... ...Maybe there's ten percent join ISIS . Here is something that we need t... ...knows where are the people, where ISIS , what's going on. We have no news. W... ...second, we had some places for ISIS that is essential for the US to bomb... ...that. There were some other places that ISIS were trying to get into the mountain... ...sure there are no people other than ISIS , or there will be no—any casualties... ...is not over. The siege is not broken. ISIS is still there with all its power... ...some people left in the mountain. ISIS still there. It's not over. Did yo... ...France, yes, France was also bombing ISIS places. No, that decision actuall... ...government. The US operations against ISIS , which stretch for the next severa... ...help other Iraqis who are affected by ISIS . The US Army continued to bomb, ... ...that were going on in the counter- ISIS operations? It stayed with them, bu... ...of information that's relating to ISIS , that you can coordinate with thi... ...or even, in the future, prosecuting the ISIS or perpetrators. We had, I think, thre... ...it's going to be only about what ISIS did. Our friends at the Stat... Show more... Jeff Flake ...coincides timewise with the rise of ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant... ...timewise with the rise of ISIL [ Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ] and the question of whether that AUM... ...can govern the US operations against ISIL . Why did you think it was important t... Load more Transcripts Related Topics go to the Transition Transition go to the Elections and Campaigns Elections and Campaigns go to the Arts and Humanities Arts and Humanities go to the Immigration Immigration go to the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa