--- title: Jimmy Carter: President Obama Dropped the Ball On Islamic State Threat description: The President waited too long before acting against the Islamic State, former President Jimmy Carter said canonical: https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-08T12:42:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:30.476Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jimmy Carter: President Obama Dropped the Ball On Islamic State Threat og:description: The President waited too long before acting against the Islamic State, former President Jimmy Carter said og:url: https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a8e8ba1aec1761c/69875f2c524fc000b0de9aa3/jimmy-carter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Jimmy Carter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jimmy Carter: President Obama Dropped the Ball On Islamic State Threat twitter:description: The President waited too long before acting against the Islamic State, former President Jimmy Carter said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a8e8ba1aec1761c/69875f2c524fc000b0de9aa3/jimmy-carter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:58 video:published: 2014-09-05 section: world topics: ISIS, foreign fighters, recruitment, jihadist propaganda, Syrian civil war, Iraq, caliphate, Sunni Muslims, religious minorities, social media genre: news report, explainer tones: serious, critical, analytical, alarmed emotions: concern (high), fear (medium), anger (medium), curiosity (low) sentiment: negative audience: general news readers, policymakers, security analysts, young Muslims in the West organizations: ISIS, Al-Qaeda, TIME products: YouTube, Twitter content_suitability: war [00:02-02:58]; violence [00:02-00:09]; hate [01:42-01:50]; politics [01:55-02:10] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Jimmy Carter: Obama Dropped the Ball on ISIS Threat > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f14695bc-1cf2-44a2-bd12-a4c102ff6589&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why So Many Foreign Fighters Join ISIS [Watch (HLS stream): Why So Many Foreign Fighters Join ISIS](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xvTQSd5R.m3u8) (2:58)  _Published 2014-09-05. A growing number of foreigners is joining the Islamic militant group - but why?_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video examines how the Islamic State (ISIS) is attracting foreign volunteers, noting that hundreds of fighters from at least 50 countries have travelled to Syria and Iraq. It describes recruitment tactics such as online videos, a social media post during the World Cup, and a humanitarian framing of its aims. It also covers the group's territorial control and its appeal to young foreigners, and it ends with the challenge of countering that appeal. ## Key points - ISIS is described as making a name for itself as one of the most ruthless militias in the Middle East while successfully recruiting Western volunteers. (00:02) - Hundreds of fighters from at least 50 countries are said to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to wage war under the ISIS flag. (00:17) - One recruitment video shows a fighter walking down the stairs of a four star hotel in Kasab, northwestern Syria, telling recruits they can sleep there for free. (00:51) - ISIS tweeted during the World Cup with the hashtag WorldCup2014 to steer soccer fans toward its propaganda. (01:04) - ISIS initially portrayed itself as part of a humanitarian effort to back fellow Sunni Muslims in the Syrian civil war. (01:26) - In reality, ISIS has targeted Sunnis, Shia Muslims and other religious minorities in its campaign to control territory. (01:42) - ISIS has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate spanning parts of Iraq and Syria, something Al-Qaeda had never achieved. (01:55) - ISIS normally accepts any Muslim into its ranks, whereas some other Islamist groups in Syria ask fighters to align with their specific ideology. (02:20) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:28] ISIS recruiting Western volunteers. The video introduces ISIS as a ruthless militia that is attracting hundreds of foreign fighters from at least 50 countries. - [00:28 to 01:13] Recruitment videos and social media outreach. The segment shows a recruitment video featuring a hotel in Syria and an ISIS tweet tied to the World Cup. - [01:13 to 01:55] Humanitarian framing versus reality. ISIS's early claim of defending Sunni Muslims is contrasted with its targeting of Sunnis, Shia Muslims and other minorities. - [01:55 to 02:35] Territory and appeal to foreigners. The video covers ISIS's declared caliphate and its welcoming approach to foreign recruits compared with other Islamist groups. - [02:35 to 02:58] The challenge for the West. The video concludes that the West must persuade vulnerable young Muslims that ISIS offers a distortion of Islam rather than a perfect Islamic state. ## Key quotes - [00:13] narrator: "the extremist group is also making headlines for its successful recruitment of Western volunteers" - [01:26] narrator: "ISIS initially portrayed itself as being part of a humanitarian effort to back fellow Sunni Muslims in the Syrian civil war." - [02:24] narrator: "ISIS normally accepts any Muslim into its ranks whereas some other Islamist groups in Syria ask for fighters to align with their specific ideology." - [02:41] narrator: "The challenge for the West, to persuade vulnerable young Muslims that all Isis really offers is the distortion of Islam and not a perfect Islamic state." ## Questions this video answers - Why are so many foreign fighters joining ISIS? [00:13] - How many countries are represented among ISIS's foreign fighters? [00:17] - How is ISIS using online media to recruit? [00:44] - How has ISIS presented its goals compared with what it is doing in practice? [01:26] - Why does ISIS appeal to young Western Muslims? [02:35] - What challenge does the West face in countering ISIS recruitment? [02:41] ## Content suitability - war [00:02-02:58]: The video covers armed conflict in Syria and Iraq and the militant group's war-making. - violence [00:02-00:09]: ISIS is described as one of the most ruthless militias in the Middle East. - hate [01:42-01:50]: The video describes ISIS targeting Sunni, Shia and other religious minorities. - politics [01:55-02:10]: The video discusses ISIS declaring a self-styled caliphate across parts of Iraq and Syria. by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Oct 8, 2014 12:42 PM UTC  Former President Jimmy Carter enters Jackson Performance Hall at Georgia Southwestern University for his 90th birthday celebration, Oct. 4, 2014, in Americus, Ga. Former President Jimmy Carter enters Jackson Performance Hall at Georgia Southwestern University for his 90th birthday celebration, Oct. 4, 2014, in Americus, Ga. Branden Camp—AP by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Oct 8, 2014 12:42 PM UTC Former President Jimmy Carter has [criticized](http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/07/6182968/carter-unhappy-with-obamas-policies.html?rh=1) the Obama administration’s handling of the crisis in the Middle East and the growing threat of the Islamic State, joining a growing list of the president’s allies who are scrutinizing his strategy in Syria and Iraq. In an interview with the [Fort Worth, Tex. _Star-Telegram_](http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/07/6182968/carter-unhappy-with-obamas-policies.html?rh=1) published Tuesday, Carter said the U.S. had waited too long to respond to the growing power of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) extremist group, which also goes by the name Islamic State. “We let the Islamic state build up its money, capability and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria,” Carter said. “Then when \[ISIS\] moved into Iraq, the Sunni Muslims didn’t object to their being there and about a third of the territory in Iraq was abandoned.” Carter added that the use of ground troops in addition to the current air campaign could ensure the U.S. succeeds in Iraq. “If we keep on working in Iraq and have some ground troops to follow up when we do our bombing, there is a possibility of success,” he said. Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has criticized President Obama in recent days for not pushing harder to keep American troops in Iraq and overrule then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. And Hillary Clinton told _The Atlantic_ in August that the Obama administration’s decision not to arm Syrian rebels for fear of weapons falling in the hands of extremists created a “[big vacuum” for jihadists to fill](http://time.com/3097964/hillary-clinton-syria-isis-the-atlantic/). President Obama acknowledged last month that [U.S. intelligence didn’t anticipate](http://time.com/3442254/obama-u-s-intelligence-isis/) the threat that ISIS posed in Iraq but has maintained that arming Syrian rebels would have been untenable, and might have led to militants obtaining arms. \[[_Star-Telegram_](http://http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/07/6182968/carter-unhappy-with-obamas-policies.html?rh=1)\] ## Transcript [00:02] The Islamic state of Iraq and greater Syria is quickly [00:06] making a name for itself as one of the most ruthless militias [00:09] in the Middle East. But the extremist group is [00:13] also making headlines for its successful recruitment of [00:17] Western volunteers. Hundreds of fighters from at least [00:21] 50 different countries and known to have travelled to Syria [00:24] and Iraq to wage war under the ISIS flag. [00:28] Here's a close look at how the group is recruiting them. [00:33] And [ UNKNOWN ] says that what gives you life is Jihad. I [00:37] know by a law that this the land of Jihad. We have brothers [00:39] from Bangladesh, from Iraq, from Cambodia, Australia, [00:44] UK. Nothing has has [ INAUDIBLE ] In one video posted on [00:48] YouTube, new recruits are enticed to respond to the call of [00:51] jihad by a fighter who's filmed walking down stairs. Of a [00:55] four star hotel in the town of Kasab in northwestern [00:59] Syria. [ FOREIGN ] The fighter tells recruits [01:04] they can sleep there for free. ISIS also tweeted, [01:08] during the World Cup, with the hashtag WorldCup2014. [01:13] In an attempt to steer soccer fans to the group's sleekly [01:17] produced propaganda. ISIS [01:26] initially portrayed itself as being part of a humanitarian [01:30] effort to back fellow Sunni Muslims in the Syrian civil war. [01:34] That promise of a fight to protect Muslim brothers and [01:38] sisters, is a powerful draw for some Western recruits. But [01:42] in reality, ISIS has been targeting Sunnis as well [01:46] as Shia Muslims, and other religious minorities in its [01:50] campaign to control territory. [ MUSIC ] [01:55] Isis also accomplished something Al- queda has never [01:58] been able to achieve. It has declared self styled [02:02] Islamic palafite in an area that spans parts of Iraq [02:06] and Syria. And it's apparent [02:10] ability to create some sort of stability in a war zone has [02:14] proved attracted to some western Muslims. ISIS [02:20] makes a particular effort to be welcoming to foreigners. ISIS [02:24] normally accepts any Muslim into its ranks whereas some [02:27] other Islamist groups in Syria ask for fighters to align with [02:31] their specific ideology. For [02:35] these young, restless foreigners. Isis can appear to offer a [02:38] sense of mission. The [02:41] challenge for the West, to persuade vulnerable young [02:45] Muslims that all Isis really offers is the distortion [02:49] of Islam and not a perfect Islamic state. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/"},"headline":"Jimmy Carter: Obama Dropped the Ball on ISIS Threat","datePublished":"2014-10-08T12:42:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:30.476Z","description":"Democratic ex-president becomes latest Obama ally to turn critic","url":"https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/","keywords":["White House","Foreign Policy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a8e8ba1aec1761c/69875f2c524fc000b0de9aa3/jimmy-carter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a8e8ba1aec1761c/69875f2c524fc000b0de9aa3/jimmy-carter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jimmy Carter","caption":"Former President Jimmy Carter enters Jackson Performance Hall at Georgia Southwestern University for his 90th birthday celebration, Oct. 4, 2014, in Americus, Ga.","creditText":"Branden Camp—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/","name":"Jimmy Carter: Obama Dropped the Ball on ISIS Threat"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why So Many Foreign Fighters Join ISIS","description":"A growing number of foreigners is joining the Islamic militant group - but why?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xvTQSd5R/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-05T19:18:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xvTQSd5R.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/","duration":"PT2M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3481324/jimmy-carter-president-obama-isis/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```