Mediaboss Marketing

By Dan Merica, CNN

updated 4:39 PM EDT, Mon October 6, 2014

"We took decisive action against the threat of violent extremism," Hillary Clinton says of her time as secretary of state.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton used an appearance in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday to talk up the work she did to combat "violent extremism" during her time as secretary of state.

"We took decisive action against the threat of violent extremism," Clinton said of her four years as America's top diplomat, "certainly most practically from Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's syndicate of terror."

The line is new for Clinton and comes at a time that some have raised questions whether the Obama administration underestimated ISIS, a terrorist group that has swept into power in areas of Syria and Iraq. President Barack Obama decided during his first term not to help train and arm rebels in Syria, despite urging from Clinton and other top advisers. In hindsight, some of those advisers say not arming Syrian rebels helped lead to the rise of ISIS.

Last month, Obama authorized airstrikes against the terrorist group and training for Syrian rebels. The United States was joined by a coalition of countries, including Arab states, and Clinton backed the action.

On Monday, the former secretary of state called dealing with ISIS a "long-term struggle" in which military action is essential.

The former first lady also refused to call the group by the name it calls itself: the Islamic State.

Read the original here:
Hillary: ISIS neither Islamic nor state

"We took decisive action against the threat of violent extremism," Hillary Clinton says of her time as secretary of state.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton used an appearance in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday to talk up the work she did to combat "violent extremism" during her time as secretary of state.

"We took decisive action against the threat of violent extremism," Clinton said of her four years as America's top diplomat, "certainly most practically from Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's syndicate of terror."

The line is new for Clinton and comes at a time that some have raised questions whether the Obama administration underestimated ISIS, a terrorist group that has swept into power in areas of Syria and Iraq. President Barack Obama decided during his first term not to help train and arm rebels in Syria, despite urging from Clinton and other top advisers. In hindsight, some of those advisers say not arming Syrian rebels helped lead to the rise of ISIS.

Last month, Obama authorized airstrikes against the terrorist group and training for Syrian rebels. The United States was joined by a coalition of countries, including Arab states, and Clinton backed the action.

On Monday, the former secretary of state called dealing with ISIS a "long-term struggle" in which military action is essential.

The former first lady also refused to call the group by the name it calls itself: the Islamic State.

"Whether you call them ISIS or ISIL, I refuse to call them the Islamic State, because they are neither Islamic or a state," Clinton said. "Whatever you call them, I think we can agree that the threat is real."

Clinton justified military action against ISIS, but not against other terrorist groups, because ISIS' "kind of jihadist extremism is expansionary."

Read more here:
Clinton: ISIS not Islamic or a state

Military intervention against Islamic State militants is essential to prevent the group from grabbing more territory in Syria and Iraq, former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton says.

Speaking in Ottawa on Monday, Ms. Clinton said the Islamic State, which now controls large areas of Syria and Iraq, is more expansionist than other terrorist organizations and combatting the group will be a long-term undertaking. She made the comments as Canadas House of Commons debated a Conservative government plan to join the U.S.-led combat mission in Iraq.

Ms. Clintons speech was attended by a number of Canadian MPs, including Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who on Friday declared that his party would not support a government motion to join U.S. air strikes in Syria. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada will commit fighter planes, surveillance aircraft and military personnel to battle the Islamic State for up to six months, a plan the opposition NDP also opposes.

I think military action is critical, in fact I would say essential, to try to prevent [the Islamic States] further advance and their holding of more territory, Ms. Clinton told an audience in Ottawa. Because by holding territory they both gain weapons and they gain revenues.

Ms. Clinton said other terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and Islamist groups in the Philippines, have not attempted to expand their reach in the same way Islamic State militants have. The evidence is convincing, she added, that the group would try to pick up where Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan left off.

This kind of jihadist extremism is expansionary. It is not satisfied with holding, you know, towns and villages that straddle the border between Syria and Iraq, she said. They believe that it is part of their mission to launch attacks, to infiltrate through foreign fighters into Western societies.

In a parliamentary debate on Monday, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said his party is concerned about the possibility that Canada could end up aligning itself with the Syrian government and called for a greater focus on humanitarian aid. The Liberals also called for more humanitarian aid and said Canada should look for other, non-combat ways to intervene.

Ms. Clinton, a former secretary of state, senator and first lady, is seen as a likely Democratic contender for the U.S. presidential race in 2016, but so far she has declined to say publicly whether she will run. Asked about her intentions during her appearance in Ottawa, she joked that she had been dodging the question and would continue to do so.

Ms. Clinton said thereis bipartisan agreement in the U.S. on the goal of defeating Islamic State militants, even if there is also a debate about how to address the threat the group represents. She pointed to Canadas contribution to the U.S.-led battle against the Islamic State, including the decision to send 26 troops to northern Iraq last month to advise Kurdish security forces that are fighting the militants.

I know that your parliament is now debating a plan to do even more, including dispatching fighter jets and other material, Ms. Clinton said. The United States, Im sure, will welcome and respect whatever level of support Canada decides is appropriate to help meet this shared challenge.

View post:
Military intervention against Islamic State is essential, Hillary Clinton says

Hillary Clinton used an appearance in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday to talk up the work she did to combat "violent extremism" during her time as secretary of state.

"We took decisive action against the threat of violent extremism," Clinton said of her four years as America's top diplomat, "certainly most practically from Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's syndicate of terror."

The line is new for Clinton and comes at a time that some have raised questions whether the Obama administration underestimated ISIS, a terrorist group that has swept into power in areas of Syria and Iraq. President Barack Obama decided during his first term not to help train and arm rebels in Syria, despite urging from Clinton and other top advisers. In hindsight, some of those advisers say not arming Syrian rebels helped lead to the rise of ISIS.

Last month, Obama authorized airstrikes against the terrorist group and training for Syrian rebels. The United States was joined by a coalition of countries, including Arab states, and Clinton backed the action.

On Monday, the former secretary of state called dealing with ISIS a "long-term struggle" in which military action is essential.

The former first lady also refused to call the group by the name it calls itself: the Islamic State.

"Whether you call them ISIS or ISIL, I refuse to call them the Islamic State, because they are neither Islamic or a state," Clinton said. "Whatever you call them, I think we can agree that the threat is real."

Clinton justified military action against ISIS, but not against other terrorist groups, because ISIS' "kind of jihadist extremism is expansionary."

"They believe that it is part of their mission to launch attacks, to infiltrate through foreign fighters into Western societies," Clinton said. "If that were not the case, then we could have a different debate. I think the evidence is convincing, at least to me, that this is a group that will try to pick up where al Qaeda in Afghanistan left off."

Clinton later argued that groups like Al-Shabaab or Boko Haram "have not yet evidenced a commitment to expanding their reach the way that this ISIL group has. So, therefore, I think military action is critical."

Original post:
Clinton: ISIS is neither Islamic nor a state

By David Hawkings Posted at 5 a.m. Oct. 7

The Clintons stump with retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin at the 37th Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa. (Steve Pope/Getty Images News File Photo)

They are matches made in Democratic political consultant heaven: More than a dozen statewide candidates whose fortunes could turn on turnout by women, each paired with the woman getting ready to run again toward what shes dubbed that highest, hardest glass ceiling in American politics.

In the final four weeks before an election, theres really only one surefire way to generate positive-earned media, the euphemism for getting the campaigns message on the local news for free and without much filter. Thats to import someone like-minded from the political A-list to talk up the candidate at a rally or photogenic factory tour. And about the best way into the pockets of the local donors who havent maxed out yet is to persuade that same big surrogate to stick around for a fundraiser after the TV crews have left the scene.

In the pantheon of Democratic celebrities, of course, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton stand apart, and the former president generated ample attention Monday when he started two days of barnstorming in his native Arkansas with a rally for Sen. Mark Pryor, whos now a slight underdog for a third term, and gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross, the former congressman.

But while Bill Clinton is out to remind the folks back home of their past fondness for white-guy Democratic moderates, its Hillary Clinton who is all-but-officially out to capture the partys future which is whats making her the biggest get of all this fall.

All of a sudden, she is hardly being stingy with her time. After steering almost entirely clear of the public campaign trail in the six years since her first run for president, the former secretary of State has now mapped an October that includes stumping or fundraising in a dozen states. Half have been intensely contested in recent national elections and several are also pivotal players in the Democratic nominating process. Shes going to put herself out there to try to influence the outcome of at least seven Senate elections, five races for governors mansionsand even a handful of House contests.

Eight of the 14 candidates Clinton has agreed to help are women. But in almost every case where shes going in for a male candidate, a decent chance at victory will require significant turnout by female voters on Nov. 4.

The current itinerary (first detailed last week by Politico) might get adjusted a bit in the days ahead. But the signal it is sending seems clear. When Clinton took the hay-baled stage in Iowa three weeks ago, her first trip there since 2008, it was more than a highly choreographed political aberration. It was the start of this falls dress rehearsal for 2016, with several objectives. Those include testing and refining her newly-populist rhetoric, underscoring the rise of women as a political force and doing favors she hopes will be returned in the next year or two.

The tour (which will also include several opportunities for hawking her Hard Choices memoir) opened last week in the critical swing-state of Florida. Clinton spent the day in Miami selling books and then brought in $1 million for Charlie Crist, the ex-Republican ex-governor whos now in a tossup quest to win his old job back as a Democrat.

Excerpt from:
The Hillary Clinton 2014 Campaign Tour: Helping Democratic Women, One Swing State at a Time