White House: 'Everybody Was Surprised' By Rise of Islamic State

White House: 'Everybody Was Surprised' By Rise of Islamic State

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained that everyone was surprised about the rapid rise of the Islamic State in Iraq, not just the intelligence community.

ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl questioned President Obama’s comments during a CBS 60 Minutes interview explaining that the intelligence community had “underestimated” the strength of ISIS in Syria.

Karl then cited Former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn who warned that ISIL “probably will attempt to take territory in Iraq and Syria to exhibit its strength in 2014.”

Earnest replied that Obama was simply referring to Clapper’s comments, and had “compete confidence” in the intelligence community.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.