CIA Director John Brennan sat down with CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Bob Orr and left no doubt about how seriously the government is now taking the ISIS threat. Brennan said a priority is taking out terrorist leaders, including ISIS commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but the U.S. will need specific intelligence to hit high value targets.

The interview was broadcast tonight, Sept. 10 on the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY (6:30-7:00 PM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.

            Click here to watch the interview.

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            A transcript of tonight’s interview is below.

BRENNAN: They have pillaged and raped and plundered and taken captive men, women, and children.  And they have just mowed down tribes and families. They are evil incarnate.

ORR: This is a terrorist organization with an army and heavy weapons and safe operating space. Does that make it more dangerous than al Qaeda was prior to 9/11?

BRENNAN: I think it certainly makes it more destabilizing to the region as a whole, and we know that ISIL is looking beyond the area right now that they control to carry out attacks. And they have even said publicly and threatened the United States and the West with attacks.

ORR: The President has pledged to degrade and destroy ISIS. Do you have the intelligence resources available and in place to accomplish that mission?

BRENNAN: I think we certainly have the determination and now we have the agreement of a number of partners worldwide to work together to crush ISIL.

Brennan said a priority is taking out terrorist leaders, including ISIS commander Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, but the U.S. will need specific intelligence to hit high value targets.

BRENNAN: So these efforts to try to find and bring justice to the individuals responsible for some of these attacks, it's a lengthy process. And I think that is one of the things we have to understand. Their time will come, and we are going to make sure that we’re able to be relentless in our pursuit of them.

ORR: One of your predecessors, George Tenet, famously said after 9/11 that as he looked back on the summer of '01, the red lights were blinking everywhere. In this summer of 2014, do you see any lights blinking?"

BRENNAN: The terrorist activities right now in Iraq and Syria are very, very worrisome. So I think the lights may be blinking red as far as it is time to make sure that it's not able to continue along its current path.

Brennan told Orr that the threat extends beyond ISIS. Al Qaeda in Syria and the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen are still actively plotting to hit the homeland if and when they can.

Steve Capus is the Executive Producer of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY and Executive Editor of CBS News.

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