Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a televised interview on Sunday that sources familiar with the situation in the region have described recent ISIL terror efforts as the “greatest national security threat since 9/11,” according to an RT report.
“Al-Qaeda owns more territory, more resources, and what's happening in Iraq now is really chaotic,” he told ABC news.
During their current offensive, ISIL insurgents have captured Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul, as well as the city of Tikrit – the capital of Salahuddin province.
The foreign-backed group boasts of massacring 1,700 Iraqis following their takeover of parts of Salahuddin province. The ISIL’s objective is to capture the capital Baghdad.
But some US politicians believe that ISIL can cause violence throughout the globe, once it gets a foothold in Iraq.
Mike Rogers, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, further stated in a Fox News program that there are “thousands” of American and European volunteers and mercenaries fighting for ISIL, which “has the capability to tap people with Western passports to send them back to Europe and the United States for terrorist activity.”
“This is as dangerous as it gets,” said the Republican lawmaker, who urged US President Barack Obama to use his influence with Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to rein in the ISIL – which is likely partly funded by powerful sympathizers within those countries.
Obama has already said that the US will not be “dragged back” into costly military operations, and that Iraqis must agree on their own political solution.
As the conflict has intensified, the US leader has caught flak for failing to stem the violence, and for his inability or unwillingness to negotiate a US military presence following the withdrawal of troops three years ago.
Hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has also suggested an alternative strategy of “sitting down and talking with” Iran.
Graham said in a CNN news program that “The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure that Baghdad doesn’t fall. We need to co-ordinate with the Iranians and the Turks need to get into the game.”
“If Baghdad falls, if the central government falls, a disaster awaits us of monumental proportions,” said Graham.
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