Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) said Friday that the United States now needs to fight the Islamic State terror group with renewed vigor in Iraq and Syria.
Schiff’s comments come in the wake of the terror attack in Nice, France, on Thursday night, which has left at least 84 people dead, including two Americans. No one has yet claimed responsibility.
Schiff noted the change in tactics by ISIS to attack soft targets in smaller ways after security in many countries has been able to thwart large-scale attacks such as those on September 11, 2001, adding that the U.S. must do more to hit ISIS in its stronghold in Iraq and Syria.
"We’re going to have to go after them with renewed vigor in Iraq and Syria because that caliphate is the ideological draw for people all over the world. That’s what I think has really distinguished them from al Qaeda," Schiff said. "We’re going to have to continue to intensify the war on the propaganda, the ideology of ISIS and al Qaeda, and we’re going to have to harden our defenses here at home."
The Obama administration has faced criticism within the United States that not enough is being done to fight ISIS in the Middle East.
Schiff also mentioned how there has been a recent uptick in the number of attacks by ISIS while the group has slowly been losing ground in Iraq and Syria.
"It’s very hard to measure success when we see this multiplicity of attacks around the world," Schiff said.