Maloof, former senior security policy analyst in the office of the US secretary of defense, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Monday while commenting on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement that Washington is currently "at war" with ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
“The United States has basically helped create ISIS, or ISIL, and now we got this monster that we are going to have to deal with. And it's something that we are going to work very, very hard and deal with directly because of its imminent threats not only to the region but even to the United States,” he said.
“The fact that they are capable of bringing in their lone wolves to the United States and also to other European countries, that expands the threat measurably,” Maloof added.
The United States is currently leading efforts to build an international coalition for confronting ISIL which continues to hold sway over large swaths of territory in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria.
Representatives from across the Middle East and Western nations gathered on Monday in Paris to discuss and formulate a strategy to combat the terrorist organization.
“In dealing with them in the region, I think that it is going to be important to confront them directly, not just with the air power, although it’s going to be an important element, but also with the Special Forces operations that will go after their strongholds,” Maloof said.
“My personal view is that we should be working more closely with Iran and especially with Syria -- working with them rather than working with the Free Syrian Army -- simply because the Free Syrian Army has already announced a non-aggression pact against ISIS. And these are the people that the United States and Saudis claim that they want to train. It doesn’t make any sense,” he stated.
“These are fighters who will be just turning against the United States and probably ultimately join ISIS. And the Free Syrian Army and other groups are showing a display of camaraderie that did not exit three months ago,” he noted.
“We need to begin working closely with Syria and with Iran in order to make this a success and to deal with them accordingly,” Maloof emphasized.
The Pentagon plans to train and arm 5,000 militants in Syria as part of the Obama administration’s long-term strategy to confront the ISIL terrorist organization.
President Barack Obama has requested $500 million from Congress to train and equip “moderate” militants fighting both the Syrian government and ISIL terrorists.
In 2012, the CIA trained militants at a secret base in Jordan to fight the Syrian government. Many of those insurgents later joined ISIL, according to media reports.
Obama has authorized airstrikes on ISIL bases inside Syria but has yet to order them. US forces have conducted more than 150 air strikes across Iraq since August 8.