Hillary Clinton calls for increase in United States air strikes against ISIS

As the Los Angeles Times pointed out over the weekend, the vast majority of the schemes to fight ISIS put forth from the leading contenders in the GOP field amount to: more airstrikes, more aide to the Kurds, more special ops advisors, and a stronger coalition of partners.

“The ground campaign in Iraq will only succeed if more Iraqi Sunnis join the fight”, Clinton said, admitting the recruitment task would be hard.

The main headline from Clinton’s appearance at New York’s Council on Foreign Relations, carried live on MSNBC, is that she doesn’t want to send USA ground troops to Syria-even if there is another attack on American soil.

“We should also work with the coalition and the neighbors to impose no fly zones that will stop Assad from slaughtering civilians and the opposition from the air.”

Hillary Clinton has revealed how she would fight ISIS in the wake of the attacks on Paris.

Instead, Clinton sought to ramp up pressure on Iraq’s Shia-led government and on Turkey to set aside old grievances.

The older the voter, the more likely he or she is to disagree with the president’s assessment of what ISIS stands for.

“Turning away orphans, applying a religious test, discriminating against Muslims, slamming the door on every single Syrian refugee – that is just not who we are”, she said.

Hillary did get into detail – lots and lots of detail – about what defeating ISIS would involve in her foreign-policy speech this morning, but there was one subject on which the details were a little vague.

At the same time, the Democratic presidential frontrunner also called for a wide-ranging assault to crush the ISIS once and for all. Thomas Nides, Clinton’s deputy Secretary of State, was also seated in the front row.

As for Russian Federation, it has “an important role to play”. Whatever the case, her recognition that we need another Awakening is welcome – especially so because she made it clear that, unlike President Obama, she is willing to go around Baghdad if necessary.

On Thursday, Ms Clinton refused to take the bait when she was asked whether Mr Obama had underestimated IS.

Clinton has been hesitant to criticize Obama’s strategy outright. She contrasted herself with the current president, whose approach is broadly unpopular with the US public.

She underscored that position again Thursday.

Yet in the same speech she announced her “plan” to “defeat ISIS”. “I think it’s improper to turn our back on those people now”, he said.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush on Wednesday called for the United States to “increase our presence on the ground”.

“ISIS is demonstrating new ambition, reach, and capabilities”, Clinton said.

Further complicating Clinton’s task is the original foreign policy wedge between her and Obama: Iraq.

The former secretary of state says that she is the only primary candidate committed to not raising taxes on average workers. The president is not willing to commit USA forces, so he embraces a minimalist strategy against ISIS.

Obama has deployed more than 3,000 US troops to Iraq to assist in security and is dispatching 50 special operations forces to Syria.

Clinton jabbed Thursday at “the obsession in a few quarters with a clash of civilization”, a term that Rubio used in a video released after last Friday’s attacks in Paris, and chastised Republicans including him for focusing on semantics. And let’s not forget: She was the one who gave him that “reset” button.

In Congress, House Republicans are pushing legislation toward approval that would erect fresh hurdles for Syrian and Iraqi refugees trying to enter the country.

But she said the United States should “support those who take the fight to ISIS” rather than fighting the group alone.

The Vermont senator had sharp words for “some of the Republican candidates” who he said introduced toxic anti-immigration rhetoric prior to this week’s debate about accepting Syrian refugees who might pose risks to America.