The United States military is continuing to flex its muscle in Iraq with targeted airstrikes. The military action was ordered by President Barack Obama in response to the terror group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The terror group is moving fast in Iraq, claiming cities and attacking Iraqi citizens.
One U.S. Senator says that ISIS isn't just posing a threat abroad, but also here on the homeland. Sen. Lindsey Graham claims:
Top U.S. Intelligence officials have told “every member of Congress, including the president, we're about to be attacked in a serious way because (of) the threat emanating from Syria and Iraq.”
PolitiFact examined the claim for its truthfulness. Writer Linda Qiu said the claim rates HALF TRUE. Qiu said the source of all this came from a handful of security advisors.
“Lindsey Graham was specifically talking about four top security advisors and his office provided statements from three of them,” Qiu said.
Those three statements are from FBI director James Comey, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. All three point to concerns about the possibility of an attack here at home, but the involvement of ISIS is a little more indirect than Sen. Graham claims.
The officials point to Syria as a potential breeding ground for terror fighters but note that while the threat of ISIS is serious – an attack in the U.S isn't an inevitability.
Because of those facts, PolitiFact rated the claim HALF TRUE.
SOURCES: DOES ISIS POSE A THREAT IN THE U.S.?
- PolitiFact's ruling
- Washington Post, Transcript: Senate Intelligence hearing on national security threats, Jan. 30, 2014
- Los Angeles Times, More Western fighters joining militants in Iraq and Syria, July 19, 2014
- Washington Post, Fighters abandoning al-Qaeda affiliates to join Islamic State, U.S. officials say, Aug. 10, 2014
- New York Times, Syria Militants Said to Recruit Visiting Americans to Attack U.S., Jan. 9, 2014
- C-SPAN, Global Threats to the U.S., Feb. 4, 2014
- Congressional Quarterly Transcript, House Select Intelligence Committee: hearing on worldwide threats, Feb. 4, 2014
- Congressional Quarterly Transcripts, Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson Delivers Remarks at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Feb. 7, 2014
- Email interview, Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow, Brookings Institution, Aug. 10, 2014
- Email interview, Kevin Bishop, communications director, Office of Sen. Lindsey Graham, Aug. 10, 2014