Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the Islamic State terrorist group will be defeated “rapidly,” while allowing that the battle against the underlying ideology behind it is likely to take longer.
“We jettison the idea that this is a generational war. We will defeat ISIS, and we will defeat them rapidly,” Mr. Gorka said, speaking on a panel on overseas threats.
He said the notion that it’s impossible to defeat an idea is “wrong,” but also said that “to undermine the ideology will take a little bit longer, but not generations.”
In Mr. Trump’s inaugural address last month, the president pledged to “eradicate” radical Islamic terrorism “from the face of the earth.”
“The definition of victory for us is a very simple one,” Mr. Gorka said Friday. “We are going to make the black flag of jihad as repugnant around the world … as the black, white and red swastika flag of the Third Reich.”
“The president has said again and again and again — we’re not into invading other countries — that’s un-American,” he said.
“We want to help those people who want to be our friends to fight their wars for themselves,” Mr. Gorka said.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to speak at the conference later Friday morning.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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