NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) ─ Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton is calling for the United States to step up military efforts in the fight against the Islamic State.
Clinton suggested the United States should send more special forces into Syria to combat the Islamic State. She also called for more “flexibility” for U.S. military advisers in Iraq to assist local forces.
The United States began conducting airstrikes on Islamic State targets in 2014, leading an international coalition. Clinton is calling for the United States to take a stronger role in the conflict and for the coalition to increase its efforts against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh.
“This is a worldwide fight and America must lead it, our strategy should have three main elements,” Clinton said on Thursday during a speech at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City. “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.”
“What we have done with airstrikes has made a difference but now it needs to make a greater difference and we need more of a coalition flying those missions with us,” Clinton added. “We have pieces in place but I think we have to deepen and better coordinate not only within our own country and Europe but more broadly.”
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has called for the Islamic State’s strongholds in Syria and Iraq to be hit even harder than they were hit by France in airstrikes on Sunday night. He has also called on the United States to attack the oil that funds the Islamic State and proposed a safe zone inside Syria for the refugees.
