Europe must share burden of counterterrorism: Clinton
Washington needs to work with Europe to eliminate groups like Daesh
washington — With Belgium reeling from deadly attacks, White House hopeful Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called on Europe to take more decisive steps to combat terrorism, including improving border controls and intelligence cooperation.
The frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination said Washington needs to work hand-in-hand with European nations to thwart and eliminate groups like the terrorist Daesh.
And while the former secretary of state castigated her Republican rivals including Donald Trump for their inflammatory rhetoric — “loose cannons tend to misfire,” she said — she pulled no punches in calling on the continent, particularly the European Union, to step up.
“There’s also more they can do to share the burden with us,” Clinton said in her half-hour counterterrorism address at Stanford University.
“We’d like to see more European countries investing in defence and security,” she said.
Clinton called on European banks to shut down terrorist financing channels and European special forces to train and equip forces fighting extremists.
She also said the continent’s militaries should be flying missions over Iraq and Syria.
Clinton took issue with Europe’s intelligence cooperation efforts, harshly assessing that it “still lags” despite pledges by France and Belgium to move forward after last year’s Paris attacks.
She noted that the EU keeps delaying a vote on sharing traveller information between member states, stressing that “it’s actually easier for the United States to get flight manifests from EU nations than it is for EU nations to get them from their own neighbours.”
Tighter monitoring of suspected militants travelling to and from Iraq and Syria was also addressed.
“We need to know the identities of every fighter who makes that trip and start revoking passports and visas,” said Clinton, speaking in a quiet, measured tone that contrasted with the more buoyant style she often uses on the campaign trail.
“Right now, many European nations don’t alert each other when they turn away a suspected militant at the border or when a passport is stolen.”
That point may resonate with leaders after Turkey said on Wednesday that it had detained and then deported Ibrahim El Bakraoui, one of the two suicide bombers at the Brussels airport, and accused the Belgian authorities of failing to confirm his links to terror.
“What happens in Europe has a way of making it to America,” Clinton said.
Clinton, who argues that her foreign policy experience would be a crucial presidential asset in troubled times, lashed out at Trump and Republican Ted Cruz for their “reckless” assessments of how to combat extremism.
“It would also be a serious mistake to begin carpet-bombing populated areas into oblivion,” she said, referring to such a proposal by Cruz.
Clinton called for “strong, smart, steady leadership,” arguing that recent comments from Trump and Cruz show they are not up to the task of combatting militants.
“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,” she said, referencing a call by Trump to lessen US involvement in Nato. “Putin already hopes to divide Europe. If Mr Trump gets his way, it will be like Christmas in the Kremlin.”
Clinton also assailed Cruz’s call for patrolling Muslim neighbourhoods.
“When Republican candidates like Ted Cruz call for treating American Muslims like criminals and for racially profiling predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods, it’s wrong, it’s counterproductive, it’s dangerous,” Clinton said.
Trump quickly dismissed her speech on Twitter and insisted he’s better prepared to take over the country’s fight against Daesh terrorists.
“Just watched Hillary deliver a prepackaged speech on terror. She’s been in office fighting terror for 20 years — and look where we are!” he wrote, adding: “I will be the best by far in fighting terror. I’m the only one that was right from the beginning, & now Lyin’ Ted & others are copying me.” That last was a reference to a Republican rival. Texas Senator Ted Cruz. —