Carter: ‘Obama Led the Most Sustained Counterterrorism Fight in American History’

CARTER: "And around the world in the face of terrorist threats from Al Qaeda to Al Shabaab to ISIL, President Obama has led the most robust and sustained counterterrorism fight in American history. In the counter-ISIL campaign, the President consistently supported the development and acceleration of the coalition military campaign plan focused on destroying the fact and the idea of an Islamic State based on this ideology in Iraq and Syria, countering the ISIL cancer's metastases everywhere they emerged, and most important protecting our homeland and our people. In addition to countering ISIL, he's taken action to ensure Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for terrorists who threaten America. He's directed eight years of unrelenting strikes on Al Qaeda that devastate that terrorist organization, both before and after bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. He’s built a counterterrorism apparatus that has thwarted countless plots against our homeland. And he did all of this, all of it, consistent with our values. Because our President knows, as he's put it, that we lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals we fight to defend.”