In the wake of mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton outlined her counterterrorism strategy aimed at thwarting homegrown terrorism and took some shots at the Republican field.
Mrs. Clinton pressed for shutting down the Islamic State’s recruitment efforts online, thus preventing foreign fighters from coming into the U.S., through better data-sharing efforts with European allies. In terms of keeping terrorists out of the U.S., Mrs. Clinton said screening efforts should be increased and should include social media vetting of visa applicants.
Mrs. Clinton also said U.S. policy should not be driven by fear. She said Republican candidates are engaged in “bluster and bigotry,” which “are not credentials for becoming commander-in-chief.”
“America is better than that,” she said.
“Promising to carpet-bomb until the desert glows doesn’t make you sound strong; it makes you sound like you’re in over your head,” Mrs. Clinton said in a speech Tuesday in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota, taking a jab at Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who made a similar statement on the campaign trail last week.
Mrs. Clinton called on Silicon Valley to assist counterterrorism measures by better policing their networks and sharing those best practices. She also called on the creation of a unified national strategy to deny terrorists virtual territory online.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Mrs. Clinton specifically called on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to help with the fight against the Islamic State group and its online radicalization efforts.
“They cannot permit the recruitment and the actual direction of attacks or the celebration of violence by this sophisticated Internet user,” Mrs. Clinton told host George Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton administration and campaign official, about the social networking sites. “They’re going to have to help us take down these announcements and these appeals.”
After the San Bernardino terrorist attack and the massacre in Paris, the discussion on the campaign trail — for Democrats and Republicans — has shifted to national security and who is best positioned and experienced to lead the country in a time of crisis.
In the speech, Mrs. Clinton looked to highlight her experience in foreign affairs as a former secretary of state, a clear contrast with her nearest rival, Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, who has not outlined a vision for dealing with the Islamic State.
However, Mrs. Clinton needs to be careful not to alienate the more pacifist wing of her party by not sounding too hawkish, while conveying to the electorate that she possesses a clear and distinct strategy from President Obama, whose administration has been accused of allowing the rise of the Islamic State.
Mr. Obama’s poll numbers have dropped to their lowest levels in more than a year as Americans increasingly disapprove of his handling of terrorism and national security.
After terrorist attacks at home and abroad, more Americans than ever — though still less than half — support sending U.S. ground troops to fight the Islamic State, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. A large majority also want a clearer explanation from Mr. Obama about his strategy to defeat the terrorist group.
However, Americans seem to be politically divided on whether the U.S. has done enough to prevent another terrorist attack.
According to data from a Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, 78 percent of Republicans who plan to attend Iowa’s caucuses said they are mostly not confident that the U.S. has done enough to prevent another major terrorist attack, compared with 27 percent of Democrats.
Mr. Obama recently dispatched about 50 special operations forces to coordinate the fight in Syria, adding to the more than 3,000 troops already in Iraq. But he and most other politicians oppose sending a large American contingent to augment the U.S.-led coalition’s air campaign.
Most Republicans running for president have not called for that either, although front-runner Donald Trump recently said he would support 10,000 troops, a figure originally floated by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Mrs. Clinton has pledged to keep American troops out of Syria, saying she would resist sending forces to fight Islamic militants even if another terrorist attack hits the U.S.
Critics have said Mrs. Clinton’s strategy is linked with Mr. Obama’s failed effort against terrorism, and she, too, is to blame for the rise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL.
“As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton supported President Obama’s hasty withdrawal from Iraq and failed to anticipate the rise of ISIS, which former Ambassador Ryan Crocker said was ’utterly predictable,’” the Republican National Committee said in a statement Tuesday, ahead of Mrs. Clinton’s speech.
“Earlier this year, Clinton endorsed Obama’s failed ISIS strategy saying the president was making ’the right moves’ and previously said that she ’would have advised him to do exactly as I believe he is doing,’” the RNC said.
Indeed, in an editorial meeting with the Concord Monitor last week, Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Obama’s foreign policy approach “was close to mine.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Kelly Riddell can be reached at kriddell@washingtontimes.com.
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