Kerry: U.S. Not at War With ISIS

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States is not at war with ISIS despite bombing them and pledging to "destroy" the terrorist group, in President Obama's words. "If somebody wants to think about it as being a war with ISIL [the administration's name for ISIS] they can do so, but the fact is that it's a major counter-terrorism operation," Kerry told CNN. Last night, President Obama said the U.S. and allies will "degrade and ultimately destroy" ISIS. That mission includes bombing ISIS positions in Syria and continuing to do so in Iraq, where more U.S. troops are headed to back up Iraqi forces. Nevertheless, Kerry told another reporter, "I don't think people need to get into war fever on this." Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked, "What does victory look like here? What does destroy mean?" He replied: "I didn't bring my Webster's dictionary." Kerry, on the other hand, offered his own definition: the goal is to have ISIS "degraded and destroyed in the way [Al Qaeda in] Afghanistan has been and Pakistan." Lastly, Kerry said that ISIS is part of Al Qaeda. "By trying to change its name, it doesn't change who it is, what it does."