The Islamic State has to be "chased down and literally decapitated every time we have the chance to do it," retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"No matter where they end up," North, 73, told "The Joe Pags Show" in an interview. "We are not going to turn Afghanistan back into what it was before 9/11.
"That's number one."
See Joe Pagliarulo on Newsmax TV: Tune in beginning at 6 PM ET to see "The Joe Pags Show" — on FiOS 115/615, YouTube Livestream, Newsmax TV App from any smartphone, NewsmaxTV.com, Roku, Amazon Fire — More Systems Here
North noted how efforts to destroy ISIS are going on in the Philippines and in other parts of Africa, including Nigeria, Liberia, and South Sudan.
Those missions, each with some American involvement, are "going to have to continue for some time," North told host Joe Pagliarulo.
"Because every time they have a chance to squirt out and hide somewhere else – just like reptiles, snakes and serpents – they're going to do so.
"They have to be tracked down.
"When they come up on the Internet, they have to be shut down and stop proselytizing this radical Islamic jihad to youngsters whom, quite frankly, have never had anything else.
"That's what al-Qaida did," North said. "It's the same model.
"It doesn't really matter what their trade name is. These are all franchises from hell."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.