Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton reacted to the terrorist attacks in Brussels that left at least 26 people dead by saying Tuesday that the United States needs to reaffirm its support for European allies and intensify efforts to prevent future attacks.
“The idea that terrorists are continuing to strike at the heart of Europe and now Brussels, and the number of casualties from what looked to be fairly sophisticated, coordinated attacks is deeply distressing,” Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, said on NBC’s “Today” program.
“We’ve got to stand in solidarity with our European allies, as they have stood with us on so many occasions, and we have to intensify our efforts to find and prevent terrorists from ever doing this again,” she said. “It’s going to be a long challenge because of a lot of factors, including the easy accessibility to powerful explosives and [the] mobility of terrorists in today’s world, but we’ve got to be absolutely strong and smart and steady in how we respond.”
Mrs. Clinton talked about tightening security but said it’s “unrealistic to say we’re going to completely shut down our borders to everyone. That would stop commerce, for example, and that’s not in anybody’s interest.”
“But we have to do a much better job, in coordination with the Europeans, on tracking and following anyone who has any connection with terrorist activity or terrorism,” she said.
“This is a time for us to reaffirm our solidarity with our European friends and allies, individually and through NATO,” Mrs. Clinton said.
Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Mrs. Clinton’s Democratic rival in the presidential race, issued a statement offering “deepest condolences” to the families of victims of the attack and to the people of Brussels “who were the target of another cowardly attempt to terrorize innocent civilians.”
“We stand with our European allies to offer any necessary assistance in these difficult times,” Mr. Sanders said. “Today’s attack is a brutal reminder that the international community must come together to destroy ISIS. This type of barbarism cannot be allowed to continue.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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