Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tries the periscope aboard the Ohio-class nuclear submarine USS Tennessee at Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. Jul. 9, 2014.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tries the periscope aboard the Ohio-class nuclear submarine USS Tennessee at Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. Jul. 9, 2014. DOD photo by Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz

Hagel Declares ISIL Clear and 'Imminent Threat’ To U.S.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warns Americans – and skeptical lawmakers – that the extremists carving up Iraq and Syria threaten ‘every stabilized country on Earth.’ By Ben Watson

Extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, pose a “clear and imminent threat” to the United States, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday, singling out lawmakers who may have been underwhelmed by his classified testimony on Iraq and Afghanistan from Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

“Make no mistake, and this country should not make any mistake on this, nor anyone in Congress – ISIL may not appear to be an imminent threat to the United States. It is a threat to the United States. It is a threat, a clear threat to our partners in that area, and it is imminent,” Hagel said during a question-and-answer session with troops at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in southeastern Georgia.

ISIL extremists seized headlines in January after taking control of the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi – where U.S. forces suffered significant losses during last decade’s war in Iraq. Now seven months into their Iraq offensive, ISIL has captured territory to the north and west closer to Baghdad, and picked up some $425 million in stolen bank notes while claiming responsibility for executing thousands of Iraqi soldiers along the way.

“This is a force that is sophisticated, it's dynamic, it's strong, it's organized, it's well-financed, it's competent,” Hagel said. “And it is a threat to our allies all over the Middle East. It's a threat to Europe. It's a threat to every stabilized country on Earth, and it's a threat to us.

“That's clearly one of the reasons that we have put such a preeminent focus on partnerships,” Hagel said. Hagel, a longtime champion of international alliances, echoed what many Pentagon officials have said in recent months about the importance of alliances and partners in a decade of fiscal austerity and declining defense spending.

“And I think you look further in that area in the Middle East to see what's going on, in Syria, in Lebanon, what's going on in Israel today, the Gaza Strip, Libya, Egypt, there is hardly a stable country in that area of the Middle East,” Hagel said. “[The ISIL threat] is a good example of why we need strong partners in the interest of all of our security.”

Hagel’s visit to Kings Bay was the first of three stops on a two-day trip to bases in the South. Kings Bay is home to some of the Pentagon’s 14 Ohio-class, nuclear-capable submarines. The visit is meant to highlight Hagel’s oversight of the military’s nuclear forces, which have been beleaguered by cheating and morale scandals while strategists have questioned the very need for the triad of missiles, bombers and submarines designed to deliver nuclear bombs decades ago.

“The secretary has made a longstanding personal commitment to the health of our nuclear force and has made it one of his highest priorities to ensure that the United States maintains a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrence force,” Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby, at the Pentagon on Tuesday, said of the planned visit. “This visit will help inform the secretary's ongoing review of our nuclear enterprise and continuing his tour with -- following on from his tour of the [intercontinental ballistic missile] fleet, which was begun earlier this year.”

Concerns over budget caps imposed by sequestration have imperiled the Defense Department’s goal of funding a successor fleet for the Ohio ballistic missile sub, an effort the Pentagon wants $1.2 billion to research over the next fiscal year in the hopes that the design work can get under way in 2017.

“There's only so much to go around. You can't get any more,” said Hagel about the fiscal limitations of sequestration. But, he added, “We are continuing to be committed to a new generation of Ohio-class submarines. And this place right here is going to continue to be very important.”

On Thursday, Hagel is scheduled to visit Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Eglin houses a squadron of F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter jets, the expensive and troubled next-generation aircraft that was grounded late last week after an engine inexplicably caught fire. Later that day, Hagel is scheduled to visit the Army aviation base Fort Rucker, Ala., where helicopter pilots are trained, to discuss the unclear future for Army aviation, which the Pentagon has targeted for spending and helicopter cuts. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.