U.A.E. Amb.: ‘We’re Missing the Larger Picture’ of ISIS’ ‘Extremist Ideology’

‘If we defeat ISIS and then take a victory lap and go home, we’re going to be back here in two years talking about another group that we then have to defeat’

SCARBOROUGH: "Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition to crack down extremist groups, including ISIS, and the United Arab Emirates is among those countries involved. Joining us now, the U.A.E. Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, thank you so much for being with us."
AL OTAIBA: "Thank you. It's good to be back."
SCARBOROUGH: "So give us a view from the Gulf states. First of all, is America a trusted ally? Are you guys comfortable that of you get involved in the fight that we will stay in the fight."
AL OTAIBA: "We have to, we have to work together. It is not an option. We have to defeat ISIS. I am not worried about not defeating ISIS. What I'm worried about is we are preoccupied just with ISIS and we are missing a larger picture. There is a much larger broader problem of extremist ideology that we live in. And if we defeat ISIS and then take a victory lap and go home we are going to be back here in two years talking about another terror group that we then need to defeat. So I think it is very important to focus on the larger picture and there are some of us in the region who are fighting ISIS on the ground, we are fighting them online. The most important part of fighting any group ISIS or other is creating an alternative model, creating an option that is more appealing than joining ISIS, and I think that's what we are trying to do in the UAE."

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