Jeb Bush: Biggest Threat to U.S. is Islamic Terrorism

GOP presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says America is facing many threats today, including Russia and China. However, he singled out Islamic terrorism as the most worrisome.

“I think the biggest threat today… is Islamic terrorism, this asymmetric threat that is organized to destroy Western civilization,” Bush told the FOX Business Network. “We should take them at their word and realize that only the United States can create a coalition to defeat them.”

While the debate over the Syrian refugee crisis continues in the U.S., Bush said he thinks a better screening process needs to be put into place.

“There have not been any details about what the vetting process is… and so I think it's, I think it's proper to pause, to take the time to create the proper screening,” he said.

But, the presidential candidate also identified the need for America to help the refugees.

“In the end, we have an obligation, I think, to help people,” Bush said. “And ultimately the way to solve this problem is American leadership in the region. We need to create safe zones inside of Syria so people don't travel to Europe and other places. We need to lead and this President refuses to do so.”

Bush added, “And I think taking in 800,000 refugees… will create significant national security problems for Germany and ultimately… could create problems for us as well. That's why we need to create a solution to this, which is the destruction of ISIS. The only way to resolve this problem is to create a coalition, led by the United States, where we have safe havens in Syria, where we have a no-fly zone, where we lead the world to destroy ISIS and to replace Assad, so that there's peace and security in Syria, to eliminate this national security threat.”

Bush suggested the military needs more funding and a more modernized strategy.

“Our strategy should be a 21st century strategy where we focus on cyber warfare, expand the reach and power of our special operators, rebuild the Air Force and Army and Marines and Navy. We’ve allowed for the decline of American military power and we need to get back to peace through strength, which means that we have to make a commitment of spending more money over the long haul on the greatest fighting force that exists in the world but has deteriorated markedly in the last seven years.”