While President Barack Obama has time and again claimed that the War On Terror is coming to an end, Marine Corps Commandant General John Amos gave a bleaker outlook during a speech Wednesday at Brookings.
According to Amos, the war on terror is far from over.
Sandra Erwin, editor of Defense News, even went so far as to use the headline, "Top Marine Sees a Future of Perpetual War."
"Sooner or later the international community is going to have to address some of these thorny, tacky, nasty places around the world," said Amos.
Amos mentioned North Korea, Mali, Libya, Syria, Iraq, pretty much a host of regions that were simmering into increasingly difficult national security situations.
“I don’t see any indication that things are going to settle down or become peaceful,” said Amos. "You can't ignore that world I just described, can't turn your back on it, in some cases if the international community doesn't address these threats, we may find these threats in Washington DC, New York City, we may find them in the major cities all around the world."
Obama touted a decimation of Al Qaeda's leadership during the run-up to last year's election. Obama's rhetoric toned down a bit in his drone speech, saying instead the leadership has been "relentlessly targeted."
Amos was less optimistic.
“We may think we are done with them. But they are not necessarily done with us,” he said.
On top of it all, Stephanie Gaskell of Politico reported Thursday morning that "More than nine months after [Benghazi terrorist attacks, Amos] still isn’t sure how he’ll pay for the additional protection Congress has ordered for diplomatic posts around the world.”
In terms of the impending sequester, Amos said simply, "You can’t ignore the world I just described,” Amos said. “You can’t turn your back on it.”
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