Her command of the subject matter sets her apart from numerous Republican candidates who still struggle to speak with confidence about foreign policy issues.
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At a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, Clinton made her best case, laying out a three-pillared global counterterrorism strategy.
She also declared that the aftermath of the attacks in the French capital is “no time to be scoring political points”.
“A more effective air campaign is necessary, but not sufficient”, the leading Democratic presidential contender said.
“This can not be an American fight, although American leadership is essential”, she said.
Clinton, meanwhile, has the particulars of her record – specifically, why Isis grew so strong on her watch – to answer for.
After the 9/11 attacks, she said the United States had made a lot of progress breaking down barriers but that Europe was “way behind”.
Sanders runs more closely with the former secretary of State on questions such as “who cares the most about people like you” and who will fight the hardest for the middle class. It would also give the U.S. additional “leverage” in negotiations with Russian Federation, Turkey and other nations aimed at ending Syria’s civil war, now in its fifth year. But is it realistic to cut out those two states given their major role in the fight, the overlap of interests we have with them in opposing ISIS there and in Iraq, and the fact that whether we like it or not their ally Bashar al-Assad is likely not going anywhere soon?
Clinton did reiterate her call for a no-fly zone over Syria, something the Obama administration has so far said it opposes.
“So yes, we do need to be vigilant in screening and vetting any refugees from Syria, guided by the best judgment of our security professionals in close coordination with our allies and partners”, said Clinton. Turning away orphans, applying a religious test, discriminating against Muslims, slamming the door on every Syrian refugee: “That is just not who we are”, she said.
She also said the U.S. should “ramp up our efforts to support and equip viable Syrian opposition units” and acknowledged that these groups “remain understandably preoccupied with fighting Assad”, referring to the embattled Syrian president.
In a statement her own campaign Tweeted out as her marquee comment, Clinton declared: “Let’s be clear: Islam is not our adversary”.
Officials in at least 30 states have said they would resist any new refugee relocations until adequate safeguards are put in place to screen people for possible terrorist links.
Speaking just before her primary rival Vermont Sen.
“It has been reported that Qatar will spend up to $200 billion on the 2022 World Cup, including the construction of an enormous number of facilities to host that event – $200 billion on hosting a soccer event, yet very little to fight ISIS”, he said.
Clinton’s remarks were in contrast to those of many Republicans who have advocated a large-scale military mobilization, new measures to bar Syrian refugees from entering the US and a congressional declaration of war.
“We should have no illusions about how hard the mission before us really is … but if we press forward on both sides of the border, in the air on the ground and as well as diplomatically, I do believe we can crush ISIS’s enclave of terror”, she added. One would think that after our failures at nation-building in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya she would be more circumspect about proposing to try it in Syria.
Sixty-five percent of Democrats agree with Mr. Obama – along with 27 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of unaffiliated voters.
“I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive level of instability we are seeing right now”, Sanders said Saturday during the Democratic debate in Iowa.
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“We can not allow terrorists to intimidate us into abandoning our values and our humanitarian obligations”.
