Obama: ISIS Does Not Pose an ‘Existential Threat to Us’

‘ISIL only wins if we react out of fear and start changing how we live’

O'DONNELL: "The FBI now has active investigations into ISIS sympathizers in all 50 states. You have had more terrorism-related arrests in one year since September 2001. Do you think Americans are living in a bit of fear that Paris could come here?"
OBAMA: "Well, there is no doubt that they are. What I try to do is to make sure that people understand the threat is real. We have to be vigilant. But we also can't panic and we can't respond out of fear. We have to make sure that we keep a clear-eyed view about what needs to be done. ISIL is not going to pose an existential threat to us. They are a dangerous organization like al Qaeda was, but we have hardened our defenses, our homeland has never been more protected by more effective intelligence and law enforcement professionals at every level than they are now. The coordination is much better than it is now. If you look at the number of successful terrorist attacks that have occurred, you know, we have disrupted a lot of them. But the dangers are still there. And so we just have to keep things in perspective. And the American people should feel confident that we're going to be able to defend ourselves and make sure that we have a good holiday season and go about our lives. I said this repeatedly overseas, ISIL only wins if we react out of fear and start changing how we live, violating our values. They can't win on the battlefield. They can kill some innocent people, but that's not a victory for them if we respond appropriately."

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