Rhodes: When Obama Said ISIS Was ‘Contained’ He Meant Geographically

TODD: “You know, a year ago, President Obama said, "ISIS was something that could not be contained." And in an interview earlier this week, just days before these attacks, he said, "ISIS had been contained." Can you say that they have been contained in Iraq and Syria when they've escalated to potentially three terrorist attacks in the last ten days, with the Russian airliner, Beirut, and now Paris? That is not a contained organization.”

RHODES: “Well, Chuck, the president was referring very specifically to the question of ISIL's geographic expansion in Iraq and Syria. They had been on the march in both Iraq and Syria for some time. But starting a year ago, we were able to halt that expansion. And we've actually been able to push back and reclaim territory from ISIL in both Iraq and Syria, including most recently in an operation with our Kurdish allies on the ground in Iraq, where they were able to take the strategic town of Sinjar, cutting off one of the key supply lines between the capital for ISIL, Raqqa in Syria, and Mosul, which has been a principal base of operations for ISIL in Iraq. So we have been able to apply pressure, take back territory, but at the same time, of course, we are seeing ISIL aimed to project power beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria most tragically in the attacks in Paris.”