Tom Donilon, former national security adviser for the Obama administration, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he has no problem calling the operation against ISIL "a war."
When pressed on the question, Donilon said, "I don't have a problem calling it a war against these groups, no."
Donilon stressed that the U.S. has learned "a lot of lessons" from dealing with other terrorist organizations.
"We know how to go against these groups and their leadership," Donilon said. "We know how to develop the intelligence on the ground which is absolutely essential."