Kerry Defends Claim That Daily Threat Is Down

Secretary of State John Kerry said today he stands by his statement that Americans are facing fewer daily threats, even though he's received heavy criticism for his remarks.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz on "This Week," explained the rationale behind his claims to Congress earlier this week, which came at the same time Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said this has been the most lethal year for global terrorism.

"Well, I understand," he said. "Of course I understand it, Martha, because people are thinking about the day-to-day vision of what is happening on the ground in Syria, in Libya, where 21 Coptic Christians had their heads cut off, where a soldier is burned and a pilot in a cage, where American journalists have been beheaded publicly. We understand that.

"But I still stand by what I said, which is in long terms, compared to the last century, there are, in fact, fewer people dying of the means -- that you look at, by state war, violence, health, etc.," Kerry said.

"But that's not what's important," he continued. "What's important right now is what James Clapper said. There is an uptick in the level of terrorism and specific incidents of people being killed. And that threat is very, very real. Nobody is trying to minimize it."

Kerry told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that "despite ISIL, despite the visible killings that you see and how horrific they are, we are actually living in a period of less daily threat to Americans and to people in the world than normally -- less deaths, less violent deaths."