Hillary Clinton during a recent interview with Univision’s Maria Elena Salinas in New Hampshire labeled the Islamic State terrorist group a "phenomenon."
Asked specifically about whether or not she underestimated the power of IS (also known as ISIL or ISIS) during her time as secretary of state, Clinton dismissed the idea that the Obama administration’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq allowed for the rise of the terrorist group.
"You know, ISIS is a phenomenon and ISIS came out of the terrible turmoil in Syria," Clinton alleged at River Valley Community College in Claremont, New Hampshire. "I personally had advocated that we do more to help the rebels against Assad because I worried that terrorists would take and occupy territory, and that has come to pass, not only with ISIS but other al Qaeda affiliates and terrorist networks."
In the wake of Clinton’s comments, the Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement slamming the former secretary of state for her description of the terrorist group, deeming her "unfit" for the presidency.
"Hillary Clinton has proven once again that she gained little as secretary of state other than frequent flyer miles," said RJC executive director Matt Brooks. "As she fully embraces the Obama foreign policy doctrine of appeasement and naiveté, she continues to prove how unfit she is for the job of commander in chief."
"ISIS is a barbaric terrorist group that has beheaded innocent Americans, killed and tortured thousands, and codified rape as law," Brooks continued. "You would be hard pressed to find anyone living under ISIS's thumb that would describe it as just a ‘phenomenon.’"
Clinton went on to insist during the interview that the " proximate cause" of the rise of the Islamic State was the chaos in Syria, not the void left by American troops departing Iraq.
"The connections with Iraq and their ability to take over cities and hold cities in Iraq is the responsibility of the failed Iraqi government," she added, explaining that the United States needs to aid Iraqi fighters so that they become "better organized" to thwart IS.
Clinton echoed President Obama’s refusal to put U.S. boots on the ground in the Middle East to fight the terrorist group despite the fact that the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies recently concluded that the Obama administration bomb campaign launched last year against IS has yielded no perceivable degradation of its forces.
"I view it as a real threat, I view it as something we’ve got to stand up to," Clinton declared. "But I will not put American troops on the ground to fight ISIS."
Last month, outgoing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno contended that the U.S. military could have thwarted the rise of the Islamic State had the Obama administration left troops in Iraq beyond 2011.