Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton refused to use the term “radical Islamic terrorism” to define the recent ISIS attacks. Instead she called them “radical jihad” and said that those who do use that phrase play into ISIS’s “hands by alienating partners we need by our side.”
Clinton, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, explained, “Our goal is not to deter or contain ISIS but to defeat and destroy ISIS.” (RELATED: Hillary Said ‘Radical Islam’ A Decade Ago)
“ISIS operates across three mutually reinforcing dimensions. A physical enclave in Iraq and Syria, an international terrorist network that includes affiliates across the region and beyond, and an ideological movement of radical jihadism,” explained Clinton.
“We have to target and defeat all three. And time is of the essence. ISIS is demonstrating new ambition, reach and capabilities. We have to break the group’s momentum and then its back. Our goal is not to deter or contain ISIS but to defeat and destroy ISIS. But we have learned that we can score victories over terrorist leaders and networks only to face metastasizing threats down the road.”
“So we also have to play and win the long game,” said Clinton. “We should pursue a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy, one that embeds our mission against ISIS within a broader struggle against radical jihadism that is bigger than any one group, whether it’s al-Qaida or ISIS or some other network.”
“An immediate war against an urgent enemy and a generational struggle against an ideology with deep roots will not be easily torn out. It will require sustained commitment in every pillar of American power. This is a worldwide fight, and America must lead it.”
“Our strategy should have three main elements. One, defeat ISIS in Syria, Iraq and across the Middle east. Two, disrupt and dismantle the growing terrorist infrastructure that facilitates the flow of fighters, financing, arms and propaganda around the world. Three, harden our defenses and those of our allies against external and homegrown threats.”
Clinton explained later in her speech, “The bottom line is that we are in a contest of ideas against an ideology of hate, and we have to win.”
“Let’s be clear, though. Islam is not our adversary. Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism. The obsession in some quarters with a clash of civilization or repeating the specific words, ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ isn’t just a distraction.”
“It gives these criminals, these murderers, more standing than they deserve,” claimed Clinton. “It actually plays into their hands by alienating partners we need by our side. Our priority should be how to fight the enemy.”
“In the end it didn’t matter what kind of terrorist we called bin Laden. It mattered that we killed bin Laden. But we still can’t close our eyes to the fact that there is a distorted and dangerous stream of extremism within the Muslim world that continues to spread. Its adherents are relatively few in number but capable of causing profound damage, most especially to their own communities throughout arc of instability that stretches from North and West Africa to Asia.”