Speaking at the University of Minnesota a few hours before Republican presidential candidates were to debate in Las Vegas, Clinton made her third speech in three weeks about how to counter violent jihadism.
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Clinton also said that she was “glad” that the U.S.is taking a closer look at visa security and suggested that the Department of Homeland Security should dispatch agents to “high risk countries” to “better investigate” visa applicants.
“We have to shut down ISIS recruitment in the United States, especially online”.
Clinton sought to assure Americans that she would keep them safe following attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, incidents that have thrust terrorism to the forefront of the presidential campaign.
The former secretary of state leads the Vermont senator 51 percent to 40 percent in the Democratic caucuses, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday, almost identical to the 51 percent to 42 percent lead she had in Quinnipiac’s November poll. “We are in it for the long haul and we will stand taller and stronger than they could possibly imagine”, she said of the Islamic State.
The maximum individual contribution under federal law for a candidate seeking his or her party’s presidential nomination is $2,700. Clinton held up Minnesota’s efforts to combat domestic radicalization in the state’s Somali-American population, noting the multi-million dollar efforts Minneapolis, St. Paul and other cities have spent to identify radicalization in young people and combat ISIS propaganda. A Clinton spokesperson said she told the leaders that our nation’s fight against terrorism must not come at the expense of American values. “I think we should make it harder for them from to do that”. The state also hosts a widely touted pilot program to strengthen relations between the Muslim community and law enforcement officers.
“We will be more than happy to help and coordinate and cooperate in order to make sure that our community is safe”, he said.
Clinton walked a fine line in her speech, attempting to appear tougher than Barack Obama, who is losing public support for his response to the recent attacks, while avoiding being too hawkish.
Her reference to “bigotry” was a reference to Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
But even as she explained ways she would halt would-be jihadists, she was careful not to draw a link between terrorists and all Muslims – even meeting with a group of local Muslim community leaders before her speech at the University of Minnesota. Just last week, a ninth Minnesota man was arrested on a charge of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Clinton has sought to portray herself as resolute while Republicans are fearful in the face of terrorism, and she has drawn on her experience.
But Schier says how well Clinton’s anti-terror approach will play in a general election has yet to be determined.
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“Our security professionals need to more effectively track and analyze ISIS’s social media posts and map jihadist networks, and they need help from the tech community”, she said.
