President Obama says fighting ISIS will be a 'generational struggle'

On Monday, President Obama said the fight against the Islamic State is going to be a "generational struggle" that ultimately won't be "won or lost by the United States alone," but rather the "countries and communities that terrorists like [ISIS] target."

Obama made his remarks at the Pentagon following a briefing on the U.S. campaign against ISIS. "This broader challenge of countering violent extremism is not simply a military effort," he said. "Ideologies are not defeated by guns. They're defeated with better ideas — a more attractive and more compelling vision." The United States was on high alert over the 4th of July weekend amid warnings of possible attacks by ISIS, and Obama touched on the danger of terrorists who are able to operate under the radar. "The threat of lone wolves or small cells of terrorists is complex, it's harder to detect and harder to prevent," he said. "That means that we're going to have to pick up our game to prevent these attacks."

To combat ISIS online, Obama said the U.S. government plans to increase its efforts to counter propaganda it posts on social media sites, and will partner with Muslim communities who speak out against "the twisted thinking that draws vulnerable people" into the ranks of ISIS. He also called out the Senate for not confirming his nominee for undersecretary of the Treasury Department, Adam Szubin. Szubin was nominated in April, but there hasn't been a hearing or vote set yet. If confirmed, one of Szubin's roles would be cracking down on illegal funding to groups like ISIS, The Guardian reports.

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