Former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden said Wednesday that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) is currently much stronger and larger than al Qaeda was when it attacked the United States on September 11, 2001.
"This is beyond the capabilities of the group who attacked us on September 11th. They [al Qaeda] were hosted by a government, they were a global terrorist organization. These guys are a thorough regional terrorist organization, aspiring to be global. They're not hosted by anybody. They are a government. They are larger than al Qaeda. They control territory, and as several of your commentators pointed out, they're kind of an army too," Hayden said on Fox & Friends.
When asked what would happen if the United States does not step up attacks on the group Hayden predicted the violence would worsen.
"This doesn’t self heal, it will get worse."