Kerry: To Defeat ISIS, We Must Address ‘Intolerance & Economic Hopelessness’

"That means the fight against violent extremists is not going to be decided on the battle field. It's gonna be fought and won in classrooms, in workplaces, houses of worship, community centers, urban street corners, in halls of government. Countries need to adopt laws that crack down on terrorist recruitment. We have to address the intolerance, economic hopelessness, and exclusion in some of our societies. And we have to create alternatives to violent extremism in countries where it is prevalent.

Alternatives that are as credible, as visible, as empowering and as broadly available as we can make them. And if we don't take these steps then you can absolutely bet that at this conference or another one like it, five years, ten years from now, our successors will be on this same stage talking about this very same topic. The terror groups may have different acronyms by then and they may be targeting different countries by then.

But if we don’t do what is required now, I can guarantee you that the fundamental challenge of today's conflict will remain."