Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said on Thursday that the Islamic State poses a greater threat to the United States now than al Qaeda did in 2001 and 2003, adding that the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, were not very “sophisticated.”
During a press conference in Mobile, Alabama, Carson was asked about the threat posed by al Qaeda in 2003, according to video captured by ABC News.
“They weren’t nearly as developed as they are now at that point,” Carson responded.
A reporter then pointed out that al Qaeda was responsible for 9/11.
“Yeah but being responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, what happened right there, really didn’t require a great deal of sophistication because we were not paying attention. We were not coordinating our efforts. So you didn’t have to be all that great. You had to be able to fly some planes and get a couple of people in here,” Carson said in response. “That’s going to be a lot more difficult to do now. You’re going to have to be a lot more sophisticated than that now.”
He said that ISIL is “absolutely” more of a threat now that al Qaeda was in 2001 and 2003.
Watch the video via ABC News:
WATCH: Ben Carson on al Qaeda: 9/11 attacks “really didn’t require a great deal of sophistication.”
https://t.co/huvGmBG3Jh
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 19, 2015