CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday grilled President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes on the administration's response to the Islamic State (ISIS) in wake of the deadly attacks in Paris.
On CNN's
"State of the Union," Tapper noted that Obama recently stated that ISIS is "contained."
"I know the president was specifically talking about the Iraq/Syria battlefield, but he made the comment after the terrorist attack against the Russian airliner, after the suicide bombings in Beirut," Tapper told Rhodes. "If this is what ISIS looked like contained, I shudder to think what ISIS looks like uncontained."
Tapper also shot back at Rhodes when he said America needs to be "one step ahead" of ISIS whenever possible.
"One step ahead?" Tapper said. "We don't seem to be one step ahead of any terrorist group these days."
Not only are people worried that Obama underestimated ISIS in the past calling them a JV team, but that he may continue to underestimate them, Tapper said.
"This is the worst atrocity in France since Hitler," he said.
Rhodes said the United States stands ready to help France should it decide to invoke Article V of the NATO Charter in which all members aid any one that is attacked.
"We're prepared to ramp that up," Rhodes said.
"Why are you ready to ramp it up now?" Tapper asked. "Why haven't you already ramped it up?"
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