Calling this "a war of ideas," Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger denounced talk of a Muslim ban while detailing the long-term strategy of cutting off the pipeline to ISIS before mass attacks occur in the future.
Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program Monday, the Air Force veteran in Iraq said that though the short-term goal is defeating ISIS, it's going to take more than that.
"We have to watch our language," Kinzinger told MSNBC. "Saying things like, 'A Muslim ban' is bad, because first off, you know, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates just dealt the largest blow to al-Qaida recently that's ever been blown, that's ever been put on them in Yemen.
"But the long-term target is understanding, you know, you have generations of people that are looking at the internet, that are uneducated in some cases, in Syria and what's going on there, that are fertile recruiting ground for ISIS,' Kinzinger said.
The "Morning Joe" debate turned toward social media and the role the U.S. could ask companies like Facebook and Twitter to be more vigilant toward terrorist activity, much the same way companies banded together to eradicate child porn on those platforms.
"We look back too many times and say there were signs," Kinzinger told the show. "There's not a ton you can do to stop them until they take that first action."
However, Nicole Wallace, former spokesman for George W. Bush, said that first action could be social media activity.
"It's not a capability question. It's a will question," Wallace said. "And I think a lot of people believe the policy debate will shift to whether or not Facebook and Twitter and social media companies can do more."
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