Hillary Clinton, a top Democratic presidential candidate, today demanded that the US-led fight against the Islamic State be intensified in the wake of the Paris attacks and called for a three-pronged strategy to shut down the group's flow of fighters, weapons and propaganda.
Rolling out her plan to defeat the Islamic State in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attack, Clinton called for a "more effective coalition air campaign, with more allied planes, more strikes and a broader target set."
In her major policy speech on IS, Clinton told a New York audience that the US 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," she said in her address to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a top American think-tank.
A key obstacle standing in the way is a shortage of good intelligence about ISIS and its operations.
"So we need an immediate intelligence surge in the region, including technical assets, Arabic speakers with deep expertise in the Middle East and even closer partnership with regional intelligence services," she said.
"Our goal should be to achieve the kind of penetration we accomplished with al Qaida in the past. This would help us identify and eliminate ISIS' command and control and its economic lifelines," the former American diplomat said.
A more effective coalition air campaign is necessary, but not sufficient, she noted. "We should be honest about the fact that to be successful, airstrikes will have to be combined with ground forces actually taking back more territory from ISIS."
"Like President Obama, I do not believe that we should again have 100,000 American troops in combat in the Middle East. That is just not the smart move to make here," she said.
Clinton called for intensification of counter-terrorism effort.
"A terror pipeline that facilitates the flow of fighters, financing, arms and propaganda around the world has allowed ISIS to strike at the heart of Paris last week and an al Qaida affiliate to do the same at Charlie Hebdo earlier this year."
IS is working hard to extend reach, establish affiliates and cells far from its home base. And despite the significant setbacks it has encountered, not just with IS and its ambitious plans, but even Al Qaida, including the death of Osama bin Laden, they are still posing great threats to so many, she added.
"We need to intensify our counterterrorism efforts on a wider scope. Most urgent is stopping the flow of foreign fighters to and from the war zones of the Middle East. Thousands of young recruits have flocked to Syria from France, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and, yes, even the US," she said.
