One day after White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said the Taliban was not a terrorist group, but rather an “armed insurgency,” Press Secretary Josh Earnest found himself clarifying that position to ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl at the daily White House news conference Thursday.

Earnest said while the Taliban does carry out tactics “akin to terrorism,” there is a difference between al-Qaida and the Taliban.

“The Taliban has resorted to terror tactics, but those terror tactics have principally been focused on Afghanistan,” Earnest said. “Al-Qaida is a terrorist organization that has aspirations that extend beyond just the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al-Qaida and their affiliates around the globe have sought to carry out terror attacks against Americans and American interests all around the globe.”