US Lawmakers: ISIS a 'Direct Threat' to the Homeland

The U.S. military said ISIS does not pose a direct threat to the United States yet. But lawmakers disagree.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said he will recommend a U.S. military move directly against ISIS in Syria if and when he determines it is a direct threat to the U.S. homeland or Europe.

But some U.S. lawmakers say the Islamic State is clearly a threat now.

"We should, in my view, look at ISIL [alternate name for ISIS] as a direct threat to the United States, a threat to the region that cannot be accommodated," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN's "State of the Union."

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"A lot of jihadists have flocked to area. They have expressed they will to hit the homeland," he continued. "It's about time now to assume the worst about these guys, rather than underestimating them."

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., agreed on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"It's a very real threat. You saw the very barbaric behavior. And one of the problems is it's gone unabated for nearly two years," he explained. "And that draws people from Britain to across Europe even the United States to go and join the fight."