“If our presidents would have just gone to the beach and enjoyed the ocean and the sun, we would’ve been much better off in the Middle East, than all of this tremendous death, destruction, and you know, monetary loss.” Presidential Candidate Donald Trump

Panelists Tamir Pardo, former Director of the Mossad, and Michael Morell, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, joined moderator Graham Allison, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs for a discussion on the global threat posed by Islamic extremist groups. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

UPDATE — What a difference a year can bring! Twelve months ago, Michael Morell was already “measuring the drapes”… So far, President Trump — except for a Hollywood bombing of an airbase in Syria — has managed to keep away from the Middle-East. But even with Mike Flynn out of the picture, there are still plenty of folks around the POTUS who look for military confrontation with Iran. The CIA has now entered the danger zone. Finally, ISIS is about completely defeated and many of its fighters are expected to return to Europe. End of UPDATE

The panelists discussed the evolving presence of the Islamic State in the Middle East as well as U.S. and Israeli efforts to mitigate the spread of ISIS.

When Pardo and Morell were asked their view about Trump’s recent comment suggesting that the middle east would be a far better place for the US if the last two POTUS had spent their time at the beach, they simply could not say a word for quite some time.

ISIS, Israel, and Spymasters: A Reality Check

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And the Next CIA Boss is:

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ISIS, Israel, and Spymasters: A Reality Check

One Year Ago — ISIS, Israel, and Spymasters: A Reality Check