Rep. Peter King said Sunday that despite unrest in Iraq, Syria is the biggest threat right now to America’s national security interests, noting the high number of Americans or those with European passports in Syria who could travel to the U.S.
“Syria is our biggest threat right now,” Mr. King said on ABC’s “This Week” program. “Any of these people can go back to the U.S. and carry out the type of attack they’ve been trained for in Syria.”
The New York Republican said there are about 100 Americans in Syria who could travel back to the U.S. with very little trouble since they would use an American passport.
“All we need is one or two of them and we could have a very lethal attack,” Mr. King said.
President Obama said in a recent interview that the administration has been taking that threat seriously for years and “spending a lot of time” improving intelligence to be able to better respond to it. The threat of jihadist attack, however, is nothing new, he said.
“I think we have been under serious threat my entire presidency,” Mr. Obama said.
Mr. King said he thinks the president will come to Congress before taking any further steps in Syria.
“I think the president, to play it safe, any additional assets or troops that he sends, I think he will go to Congress,” he said.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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