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JAKE TAPPER: Let's bring in Republican Congressman Mike Turner, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman, good to see you. Thanks for joining us. You will get a briefing on the al Shabab video and their call to attack the Mall of America this week. How serious a threat do you take this group to be?
REP. MIKE TUNRER: Well, I think this is why we need a global strategy, Jake. This is in effect a terrorist attack. Their goal of terrorism as you know is to cause fear and their attempt here is to cause fear. Whether or not these particular threats are real or not, these organizations are. As you pointed out, al Shabab having ties to al Qaeda, has previously orchestrated these types of attacks. I think we need to make certain we don't just look at this as isolated geographic instances. This is not just how do we deal with Paris or with the threat to the Mall of America. It's how do we deal globally with these terrorist groups and organizations to take down their capabilities, to take their ability to threaten Americans
JAKE TAPPER: But different groups have different reaches and different groups have different abilities. I know in the past, the group ISIS versus the al Qaeda remnants in Syria plus then there's Boko Haram, there are a whole bunch of different terrorist groups. Is al Shabab considered a serious threat to the United States homeland?
REP. MIKE TUNRER: Well, I think you just outlined well in your description of this in your opening. Any group or organization that has the intent to harm Americans and are making these calls and pronouncements can both have a direct threat and also the effect of soliciting or encouraging others to take action. But in this instance, what we see unfortunately and this is something that the United States turn to, that the President needs to turn to, as we have retreated from these areas and these groups have grown and taken hold, the threat to the West and to the United States has grown. This is something that needs to be addressed because if we don't take this fight directly to them to take down their capabilities, both financially, structurally and their leadership, we will see threats like this continue to be a risk for us.
JAKE TAPPER: You were talking about how in a way; al Shabab had already achieved something by creating terror, creating fear. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S. Somalia, of course, home to al Shabab's base of operations. Do you think that there is actually a link there, or are they -- is the group in your estimation hoping somebody in Minnesota is inspired by this video, or are they trying to alienate Somali Americans from the rest of the population?
REP. MIKE TURNER: Well, I think your last point is certainly an important one. We should not look suspiciously at just anyone who has either roots or faith in Islam or comes regionally from an area. The issue is one of these terrorist organizations that take terrorism, Islamic extremism, to the point of wanting to hurt Americans. We can't succumb to their culture of fear that they want to impose upon us. At the same time we need to remain diligent. It's very good to see what the Mall of America is doing. It's good to see what Homeland Security is doing. But what we need to do is a global strategy that makes them at risk instead of our being at risk.
JAKE TAPPER: Congressman Mike Turner from Dayton, Ohio, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.