( CNN ) -- A good soldier never publicly contradicts the commander in chief , at least not intentionally , and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is a good soldier . A Vietnam War veteran , Hagel provided a robust defense of President Barack Obama 's approach to ISIS jihadists in Iraq and Syria when interviewed Wednesday by CNN National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto . With Obama facing criticism over what even a fellow Democrat called too much caution , Hagel sought to make clear that the President wants to eliminate any ISIS threat to the United States and its interests -- both abroad and at home . 'Degrade and destroy ' `` We 're providing the President with those options to degrade and destroy '' the ability of the group that calls itself the Islamic State to attack Americans anywhere in the world , he said . When Sciutto pressed for clarity on Obama 's statement earlier Wednesday , asking if the President meant containment , Hagel sough to clarify what his boss said . Asked whether Obama meant `` containment '' when he said earlier Wednesday that the goal was to manage the ISIS threat , Hagel said , `` No , it 's not contain . '' `` It 's exactly what the President said : Degrade and destroy . '' Why it took Obama so long to address his no ISIS strategy comments . And so it went for an hour of questions from Sciutto and some in the audience at the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island . Hagel repeatedly expressed agreement with Obama 's positions on Syria and Ukraine , where the international community has said Russian troops have crossed the border to help pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military . Asked if Obama tipped his hand by rejecting a U.S. ground invasion against ISIS three years after bringing home combat forces from Iraq , Hagel said , `` We 're not going to go back into Iraq the same way we came out of Iraq a few years ago . '' Biden 's warning to ISIS : 'We will follow them to the gates of hell ' Instead , he advocated Obama 's broad-based strategy that calls for a new and more inclusive Iraqi government , an international coalition supporting it and limited U.S. military action like the airstrikes launched last month at ISIS targets in the north . `` There 's no question in my mind '' that the Obama administration approached the ISIS issue with a `` sense of urgency , '' Hagel said , adding that possible airstrikes on the jihadists ' positions in Syria were among the options the Pentagon has presented to the President for further steps . What can the U.S. do against ISIS in Syria -- and could it work ? On the Ukraine conflict , Hagel sounded a similar theme . If Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to escalate the fighting there , he would face further consequences on top of U.S. and European Union sanctions imposed so far , but `` we 're not going to get into a military engagement , a war , over this with Russia , '' Hagel said . 'Sick to your stomach ' The ISIS issue dominated the hour-long interview . Hagel said the videotaped beheadings of two American journalists by the Sunni jihadists `` makes you sick to your stomach , but it again reminds you of the brutality and barbarism that is afoot in some places in the world . '' `` It wo n't just recede into the gray recesses of history until we stop it , '' he said . At one point , Hagel misspoke about the number of Americans believed fighting with ISIS . `` As we have acknowledged publicly , we are aware of over 100 U.S. citizens who have U.S. passports who are fighting in the Middle East with ISIL forces , '' he said , referring to the group by another acronym for the Sunni jihadists used by some U.S. officials . `` There may be more -- we do n't know . '' The Pentagon later told Sciutto that Hagel 's figure referred to the total number of Americans believed fighting in Syria with various groups , not just ISIS . About a dozen Americans are thought to be with ISIS . When Americans leave for jihad . CNN 's Shirley Henry contributed to this report .
Defense Secretary Hagel tells CNN 's Obama that ISIS must be stopped . `` It 's exactly what the President said , '' Hagel says of ISIS strategy . No ground invasion of Syria or war with Russia over Iraq , he insists . President Jim Sciutto has been criticized for not attacking ISIS in Ukraine .