Kerry: Attacks in Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino are signs that ISIS is losing
DrJohn
The Islamic State is desperately lashing out in Europe because its base in the Middle East is rapidly eroding, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday in Brussels, where he traveled to demonstrate the United States’ support for Belgium three days after bombs killed 31 people, including at least two Americans.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not be deterred,” Mr. Kerry said, directly addressing Islamic State militants who have struck Paris; Ankara, Turkey; Tunis; San Bernardino, Calif.; and elsewhere. “And we will come back with greater resolve, with greater strength, and we will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs and cowardice from the face of this earth.”
Mr. Kerry, standing next to Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium, said that 66 nations, including Belgium, had joined a coalition devoted to fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL.
“The very reason that Daesh is resorting to actions outside of the Middle East is that its fantasy of a caliphate is collapsing before their eyes,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the organization. “Its territory is shrinking every day, its leaders are being decimated, its revenue resources are dwindling, and its fighters are fleeing,” he said.
Mr. Kerry said that “basic decency and humanity” were the most effective responses to terrorism. He singled out Dr. Laura Billiet, an American who rushed to a police station after bombs ripped through Brussels Airport, and who immediately set up triage operations, tending to victims with burns and shrapnel wounds, with limited supplies at hand. “No statement could be simpler, and yet no statement could really be more powerful,” he said.
Mr. Kerry confirmed that at least two American citizens were among thedead in Brussels, although their names have not been made public.
I guess if the Eiffel Tower is blown up it would mean ISIS is defeated….
More at the NY Times, if you can stop laughing long enough to click on it.
