WASHINGTON (AP) – Defense Secretary Ash Carter told lawmakers Tuesday that the attacks in Brussels will not deter the United States from its plan to defeat the Islamic State group as soon as possible.
“No attack – no attack will affect our resolve to accelerate the defeat of ISIL,” Carter said, using the acronym for the terrorist organization.
Carter struck an optimistic tone about the military campaign before the House Armed Services Committee just hours after multiple explosions in Brussels killed more than 30 people. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the blasts.
He said he’s confident of beating the group in Iraq and Syria and in other places where he described it as a spreading cancer.
“We have the momentum of the campaign in Iraq and Syria,” Carter said. “That’s necessary but not sufficient as the attacks in Belgium suggest.”