Clinton says US at war with ‘jihadists,’ not radical Islam

Hillary Clinton avoided saying that the United States is at war with radical Islam during Saturday night’s Democratic debate, arguing people shouldn’t paint “with too broad a brush.”

“We’re at war with jihadists,” Clinton said at a debate taking place one day after more than 120 people were killed by terrorists in Paris.

{mosads}Clinton made the remark in response to a question from CBS’s John Dickerson, the debate’s moderator. He asked her about Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) comment that the Friday terror attacks in Paris showed that America is at war with “radical Islam.”

The former secretary of State said the problem with such rhetoric is that it can make people think the United States is at war with Islam. She argued that former President George W. Bush was careful after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to not use that kind of language.

“If they hear people running for president who basically shortcut it to say we are somehow against Islam, that was one of the real contributions despite all the other problems that George W. Bush made after 9/11 when he basically said after going to a mosque in Washington, ‘We are not at war with Islam or Muslims. We’re at war with violent extremism and we’re at war with people who use their religion for purposes of power and oppression,’ ” Clinton said. “And yes we’re at war with those people. But I don’t want us to be painting with too broad a brush.”

Clinton linked herself to comments made by primary rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that the United States needs to reach out to Muslim nations.

Sanders brushed off labeling terrorists groups.

The remarks by Clinton immediate won a negative reaction from Republicans.

On Twitter, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), like Rubio, a GOP presidential candidate, tweeted that “we are at war with radical Islamic terrorism.”