The view within Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff is that having served in the capacity as secretary of state, the candidate could use this qualification as a means to flout her foreign policy credentials. Equally important, there are those staffers that fervently believe that by holding such a position no Democrat or Republican candidate would challenge the “anointed Democratic nominee.” 

There were however a number of individuals inside Clinton’s campaign staff whereby a host of foreign policy and political advisers reasoned the candidate would nonetheless have to be prepared to address the “elephant in the room”—the need for an anti-ISIS strategy. The Clinton campaign thus had to prepared for another issue: How would candidate Clinton deal with the reality that many decisions that were made in the Barack Obama White House that culminated in the creation of ISIS occurred during her tenure as secretary of state?

In an attempt to address pending questions and criticism from potential Democratic and Republican revivals, or through controversial advertisements driven by Super Pacs, senior political operatives, with input from candidate, initially reasoned the campaign website could be used as an instrument to articulate and to rebut criticism that would be directed toward Clinton on the subject of ISIS.

Contained on the website were two distinct and salient points on the subject of ISIS. The first came in the form of a sentence, and read as follows: “Defeat ISIS and global terrorism and the ideologies that drive it.” The second point was more detailed and came in the form of an extended statement. The statement contained the following: Defeating ISIS: “ISIS and the foreign terrorist fighters it recruits pose a serious threat to America and our allies. We will confront and defeat them in a way that builds greater stability across the region, without miring our troops in another misguided ground war. Hillary will empower our partners to defeat terrorism and the ideologies that drive it, including through our ongoing partnership to build Iraqi military and governing capacity….”[1]

On November 19, 2015, in an address before the Council for Foreign Relations, Hillary Clinton laid out her comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS and for combating violent radical Islamism around the world. The address had another significant objective, to reduce and perhaps eliminate the fears of Americans concerned that the terrorist attack which took place in France could come to the shores of the United States.

Clinton’s three-pronged strategy consisted of the following components:

• Defeat ISIS in the Middle East by smashing its stronghold, hitting its fighters, leaders, and infrastructure from the air, and intensifying support for local forces who can pursue them on the ground.
• Defeat them around the world by dismantling the global network of terror that supplies radical jihadists with money, arms, propaganda, and fighters.
• Defeat them here at home by foiling plots, disrupting radicalization, and hardening our defenses.[2]
  

To further clarify the plan, Clinton assertively stated, “Our goal is … 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. We should pursue a comprehensive counterterrorism 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 Qaeda 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 American must lead it.”[3]

Overall, the speech very little media coverage. There is however a portion of the speech which did receive some coverage. As part of the strategy, Clinton argued “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. Opposition forces on the ground, with material support from the coalition, could then help create safe areas where Syrians could remain in the country, rather than fleeing toward Europe.”[4]

Inside the Pentagon, Clinton’s position on a “no-fly zone” was viewed as a non-starter. Senior Defense officials, to include former secretary of defense, Robert Gates, viewed no-fly zones, without Security Council authorization as an act of war. Equally troubling, once the Russian government intervened and subsequently commenced air strikes against opposition forces, to include US allies, this component of Clinton’s plan stood no chance of receiving any substantial support. Thus in reality there was no immediate solution to end the slaughter of innocent civilians in Syria.

Overall, Clinton’s speech did not gain much traction in the media. Much of this had to do with the fact that Donald Trump’s comments on the ISIS-inspired attack in France received far more media attention. Additionally, Clinton, like President Obama, refused to sanction the reintroduction of US ground forces in the struggle against ISIS. Critics therefore viewed her strategy is very much like that of the president.

In the wake of the ISIS-inspired San Bernardino, California terrorist attack, Clinton used an address on the University of Minnesota campus on December 15, 2015 to inform Americans that “We are in it for the long haul and we will stand taller and stronger than they could possibly imagine.” Most striking, without mentioning any particular candidate by name, Clinton used the address to target three Republican candidates, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, both of which Clinton believed increased the fears of Americans with their calls for a dramatic uptick in the use of force, and she focused attention Trump who called for a temporary ban on Muslims. According to Clinton “Shallow slogans don’t add up to a strategy. Promising to carpet bomb until the desert glows doesn’t make you sound strong—it makes you sound like you’re in over your head. Bluster and bigotry are not credentials for becoming commander-in-chief.”[5]

After the heinous terrorist attacks in Brussels, Clinton responded with another message to elaborate on some of the candidate’s earlier statements. As “outlined” on the candidate’s website, Clinton’s “plan to defeat ISIS and the global terrorist movement, and sharing her vision for the role that America and our allies must play in the fight against terrorism around the world” [6] included the following:

1. The threat of terrorism knows no borders—and we aren’t going to stop it with a wall.
2. ISIS and terrorist groups like them are constantly adapting and operating across multiple spaces, so our response needs to be just as nimble and far-reaching.
3. Our alliances have been core pillars of American power for decades. They should be reinforced, not abandoned.[7]

On winning the war on terrorism, Clinton claims “she has a plan to do that.” According to Clinton, “With policies that keep us strong and safe, America can lead the world in the 21st century.” In a statement on the website it begins with “Hillary will”:

• Keep America safe and secure by defending our core values and leading with principle.
• Defeat ISIS and global terrorism and the ideologies that drive it.
• Strengthen our alliances and nurture new relationships to tackle shared challenges such as climate change, cyber threats, and highly contagious diseases.[8]

Irrespective of Clinton’s efforts to distinguish herself from Bernie Sanders and the Republicans, most notably Trump, on the need for a post-Obama strategy on ISIS, the candidate still faced criticism about her tenure as secretary of state and how that contributed to the creation of the Islamic State.

In an address delivered at Stanford University on March 23, 2016, Clinton delivered yet another speech to clarify not only on her strategy but she used the opportunity to criticize the positions of several of her potential Republican revivals. With respect to refining her anti-ISIS strategy, Clinton called for more allied cooperation to combat terrorism. Additionally, the candidate asserted, “Our fight against radical jihadist terrorists will be long, and there is very real risk of future attacks here at home. But pursuing this comprehensive strategy will put us in the best position to defeat ISIS and keep our families and communities safe.”[9]

On Cruz’s call for “carpet bombing” ISIS, Clinton observed, “It would also be a serious mistake to begin “carpet bombing” populated areas “into oblivion.” Proposing that doesn’t make you sound tough—it makes you sound like you’re in over your head.”[10]

Additionally, Clinton used the address to once again direct criticism towards the Republican frontrunner, Trump. According to Clinton, “Turning our back on our alliances—or turning our alliance into a protection racket—would reverse decades of bipartisan American leadership and send a dangerous signal to friend and foe alike. Putin already hopes to divide Europe. If Mr. Trump gets his way, it’ll be like Christmas in the Kremlin. It will make America less safe—and the world more dangerous.”[11]

In a telling and lucid critic of Clinton’s address at Stanford University, on March 24, 2016 former New York City Mayor Rudolf Giuliani pointedly argued, “She had her chance to [rally people against ISIS]—she helped create ISIS. Hillary Clinton could be considered a founding member of ISIS.”[12] Giuliani added this additional point: “By being part of an administration [that] withdrew from Iraq. By being part of an administration that let [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki] run Iraq into the ground, so you forced the Shiites to make a choice. By not intervening in Syria at the proper time. By being part of an administration that drew twelve lines in the sand and made a joke out of it.”[13] Though Giuliani did not endorse any candidate, he did make this comment: “I think Trump and Cruz probably have been the most specific on it, as specific as you would expect at this level of the campaign. There’s no question they will take the war to ISIS….”[14]

With the general election now well underway, as the presumptive nominee of her party, Clinton faces a daunting task of gaining the confidence of American voters which at present believe Trump would be more effective handling ISIS. There are other major hurdles that Clinton will have to overcome. The fact the candidate refuses to call for the deployment of ground forces has not impressed voters. Second, the laughable prescription in which Clinton called for a “no fly zone” to protect civilians in Syria gained no traction. Put another way, the no fly zone idea assisted in further demonstrating the candidate “did not have” strategy for dealing with ISIS in Syria. Taken collectively, Clinton will require another iteration to increase her sagging poll numbers on how to deal with defeating the ISIS threat. Subsequent posts will address Trump’s strategy. Another will examine the Clinton and Trump strategies together. This particular post will make the case that neither candidate’s campaign prescriptions are likely to defeat the Islamic State.

Endnotes 

[1] National Security, Issues, Hillary for America-Hillary Clinton. https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/national-security.

[2] Kate Kane, “Hillary Clinton Just Outlined A Plan To Defeat ISIS And Global Terror. 3 Things You Need to Know.” https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/hillary-clinton-just-outlined-plan-defeat-isis-and-global-terror-3-things-you-need-know/.

[3] Transcript of Hillary Clinton’s Council for Foreign Relations, Time, November 19, 2015. http://time.com/4120295/hillary-clinton-foreign-policy-isis/.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Monica Alba and Alex Seitz-Wald, “Hillary Clinton Unveils Plan to Stop Spread of ISIS,” NBCnews.com, December 15, 2015. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/clinton-set-roll-out-plan-stop-spread-isis-n480376.

[6] Elizabeth Chan, “Hillary Clinton Has A Real Plan to Defeat ISIS and Prevent Another Attack Like Brussels. Here’s How,” Mar 25, 2016. https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/hillary-clinton-has-real-plan-defeat-isis-and-prevent-another-attack-brussels-heres-how/.

[7] Ibid.

[8] National Security: With Policies That Keep Us Strong and Safe, America Can Lead the World in the 21st Century. https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/national-security/.

[9] Remarks on Counterterrorism at Stanford University, March 23, 2016. https://www.hillary clinton.com/speeches/remarks-counterterrorism-stanford-university/.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] David Wright, “Giuliani: Hillary Clinton ‘Could Be Considered a Founding Member of ISIS,’” CNN, March 26, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/24/politics/rudy-giuliani-hillary-clinton-isis/.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.