Is Obama's promise to not use U.S. ground troops premature?

After President Obama made it clear that American ground troops would not be deployed to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), lawmakers like Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham slammed that promise as a "fantasy."

However, it's too early to make any definitive statements about future need for American boots on the ground, according to former CIA deputy director and senior security analyst Mike Morell.

"I think it's wrong to say that we'll never need ground troops in Syria and I also think it's wrong to say that we will absolutely need them. We just don't know yet," Morell said Monday on "CBS This Morning." "Let's see how this strategy works out of using the moderate opposition in Syria as our army and then change down the road if necessary."

Morell stressed the importance of Arab allies stepping up and offering military support in the fight against ISIS, as world leaders meet in Paris to discuss strategy.

"It's incredibly important, mostly politically, because if the Arab states are involved in airstrikes and are involved in other ways, then ISIS cannot claim that this is an Christian war against Islam. And that's very important," Morell said. "The same role that the Arabs played in Libya, and it had the same effect."

For some Arab states, the most effective way they can help the U.S. is through intelligence, Morell said.

"Helping us penetrate ISIS so that we understand what the group is about and so that we can find the leadership and remove them from the battlefield," he said.

However, while the nation is focused on destroying ISIS, Morell warned of three other terror groups he believes pose a greater threat to the U.S.

"Al-Nusra in Syria -- can't forget about them. Al Qaeda in Pakistan, which still poses a threat. And then probably the group that poses the greatest threat is al Qaeda in Yemen," Morell said. "We need to stay focused on all of these groups even as we go back after ISIS."