Congressional Intelligence Chairs Shock CNN Anchor By Saying 'We're Not Safer' Today From Terror Threats
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, made that claim in a joint interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
Crowley began the interview by asking a familiar question to Feinstein.
"Are we safer now than we were a year ago, two years ago?" she said.
"I don't think so," Feinstein said. "I think terror is up worldwide - the statistics indicate that. The fatalities are way up. The numbers are way up. There are new bombs - very big bombs. There are trucks being reinforced for those bombs. There are bombs that go through magnetometers. The bomb-maker is still alive. There are more groups than ever. And there is huge malevolence out there."
Surprised, Crowley turned to Rogers.
"So, congressman, I have to say, that was not the answer I expected," she said. "I expected to hear, 'Oh, we're safer.' Do you agree?"
"I absolutely agree that we're not safer today for the same very reasons," he said. "So the pressure on our intelligence services to get it right to prevent an attack are enormous. And it's getting more difficult."
Rogers said that the U.S. is dealing with a new, "metastasized" version of al-Qaida - one that has many new affiliates around the world with different, smaller objectives.
Here's the clip of their appearance: