Reuters, Manchester :
US Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton backed elements of President Barack Obama’s strategy to fight Islamic State militants in a debate on Saturday in which she clashed with top rival Bernie Sanders over national security and the economy.
Clinton came under fire from Republicans even before the debate was over for optimistically saying “we now finally are where we need to be” in Syria, and was criticized by Sanders for being too quick to push for regime change.
The debate was the Democrats’ first since the deadly December 2 attack by a pair of radicalized Muslims in San Bernardino, California, which along with the November attacks in Paris elevated national security to the top of the campaign agenda.
Republicans have criticized Obama’s handling of Islamic State and have sought to link the former secretary of state to what they say is a failed strategy.
Obama has relied heavily on US air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq, and ordered the deployment of dozens of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in their fight against Islamic State. In Iraq, about 3,500 US troops are advising and assisting Iraqi forces. Clinton agrees with Obama on the need to use special forces and trainers but, like the President, she has said a large deployment of US ground forces in the Middle East would be counterproductive.
“We now finally are where we need to be. We have a strategy and a commitment to go after ISIS,” she said, noting a UN Security Council resolution had brought “the world together to go after a political transition in Syria.”
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush quickly responded to Clinton on Twitter. “No, Hillary Clinton, we are not ‘where we need to be’ in fight against ISIS.”
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton today slammed Donald Trump’s recent comments about banning Muslim immigrants, saying the Republican frontrunner was “becoming ISIS’s best recruiter”.
“He is becoming ISIS’s best recruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists,” she said. She said that “it was not in America’s interest to react with this kind of fear and respond to this sort of bigotry.” Mr Trump, 69, was among the top issue being debated at the Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire. Other Republican candidates hardly figured in the debate, thus reflecting that all of them consider him as their main rival.
US Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton backed elements of President Barack Obama’s strategy to fight Islamic State militants in a debate on Saturday in which she clashed with top rival Bernie Sanders over national security and the economy.
Clinton came under fire from Republicans even before the debate was over for optimistically saying “we now finally are where we need to be” in Syria, and was criticized by Sanders for being too quick to push for regime change.
The debate was the Democrats’ first since the deadly December 2 attack by a pair of radicalized Muslims in San Bernardino, California, which along with the November attacks in Paris elevated national security to the top of the campaign agenda.
Republicans have criticized Obama’s handling of Islamic State and have sought to link the former secretary of state to what they say is a failed strategy.
Obama has relied heavily on US air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq, and ordered the deployment of dozens of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in their fight against Islamic State. In Iraq, about 3,500 US troops are advising and assisting Iraqi forces. Clinton agrees with Obama on the need to use special forces and trainers but, like the President, she has said a large deployment of US ground forces in the Middle East would be counterproductive.
“We now finally are where we need to be. We have a strategy and a commitment to go after ISIS,” she said, noting a UN Security Council resolution had brought “the world together to go after a political transition in Syria.”
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush quickly responded to Clinton on Twitter. “No, Hillary Clinton, we are not ‘where we need to be’ in fight against ISIS.”
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton today slammed Donald Trump’s recent comments about banning Muslim immigrants, saying the Republican frontrunner was “becoming ISIS’s best recruiter”.
“He is becoming ISIS’s best recruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists,” she said. She said that “it was not in America’s interest to react with this kind of fear and respond to this sort of bigotry.” Mr Trump, 69, was among the top issue being debated at the Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire. Other Republican candidates hardly figured in the debate, thus reflecting that all of them consider him as their main rival.
