Hillary Clinton called Thursday’s attack in France “horrific” and said that it serves as a reminder the U.S. must stand with its allies and not abandon them.
{mosads}Dozens were killed in Nice, France, Thursday when a man drove a truck into a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations. At least 77 are believed to be dead, with 100 more injured.
“What is happening is terrorist groups are seeing that they have opportunities inside France for homegrown terrorism and supporting terrorists,” Clinton said in a phone interview on CNN Thursday evening.
Clinton called for the strengthening of NATO and collaboration with the European Union and other allies to share intel on potential terrorist attacks and for an “intelligence surge.” She also said that the U.S. has to work with allies to combat online radicalization.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said she agrees that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attacks, is lashing out internationally because it’s losing ground at home.
“It is true that there’s been progress on the battle field in Syria and Iraq … territory is being taken back,” she said. “Airstrikes have been consistent and relentless. It’s also clear that as a result of these advances against ISIS and their main headquarters, their urgent desire to inflict terrorists attacks elsewhere has led them to accelerate, reaching out directly and indirectly through radicalization online.”
When asked if she agrees with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump’s assessment that the U.S. is at war, she responded: “We are at war with the terrorist groups and what they represent. It’s a different kind of war, and we need to be smart about how we wage it and win it.”
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