Palazzo: ISIS needs to be crushed

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Congressman Steven Palazzo, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, says the radical Islamist group ISIS is a clear and present danger and they need to be crushed. He said that during an interview with WLOX News on Friday.

"It's extremely dangerous. They're well trained. They are well organized. They are well funded. They are self financing," said Palazzo. "This isn't money coming from outside this Islamic, the Muslim world. They have control over money that they've taken from banks. They have control over oil fields where they are smuggling oil. They are bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars a month."

After a week-long trip to the Middle East to meet with allied leaders, Palazzo says they believe America took too long to recognize ISIS isn't only a danger to Middle Eastern countries, but they could extend worldwide.

"This is not just about a geographical area. This could spread globally, and we've seen manifestations of Al Qaeda, whether it's Boko Haram, al-Nusra or these other terrorist groups. They are pretty much everywhere," said Palazzo.

Palazzo says leaders in Jordan, Egypt and the Arab League want America to join them in a coalition to help defeat ISIS.

"You can't expect America to fight everybody else's wars. They need to build a strong coalition among the Arab nations. This problem is in their back yards. The thing is we want to keep it in their back yard," said Palazzo.

Palazzo says he expects America to play a more covert role against ISIS and will be assisting the Arab Nations where needed.

You can see Palazzo's entire interview on WLOX News Watch This Week on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.

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