Susan Rice: It’s a ‘Very Valid Statement’ that ISIS Is Not an ‘Existential Threat’ to the U.S.

 WOODRUFF: "How much of a threat from the Islamic State does this take off the table? What does the U.S. now have less to worry about as a result of this, would you say?"
RICE: "Well, Judy, obviously, this is a good development, but it is far from a turning point in the fight against ISIL. We are engaged in a multifaceted, comprehensive campaign to degrade and defeat ISIL, and we have seen important progress, but by no means can we look at today and say we have turned a corner."
WOODRUFF: "Well, I want to ask you about that, because the president told Jeffrey Goldberg in a series of interviews with “The Atlantic” that he doesn’t see ISIS, or ISIL, as an existential threat to the United States. And Jeffrey Goldberg reported that the president has said to the White House staff that more people have to worry about falls in bathtubs and car accidents and gun shootings than they do terrorists. So, how much should Americans fear ISIS?"
RICE: "Well, what is an existential threat, Judy? That’s something that can literally destroy our nation as we know it, physically and otherwise. So, I think that’s a very valid statement. But that doesn’t mean ISIL can’t conduct attacks and do Americans harm, whether abroad or at home. And, obviously, we have every interest and the president is fully committed to doing all that we possibly can to defeat ISIL, because, like al-Qaida, it is a threat that we must guard against and that it can do real harm to Americans and our allies, not to mention the countries in which it is rampaging. So, we have every interest in putting all of our efforts and that of our coalition partners behind the fight against ISIL. And Americans should take that threat seriously, but we also shouldn’t overblow it and turn ISIL into the equivalent of the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. That is not a fair comparison."