The Jeb Bush campaign released an ad Tuesday drawing a contrast between Bush and Hillary Clinton on national security issues.
The ad calls out Clinton for skirting the term "radical Islam" when talking about terrorism.
Clinton was asked by CBS moderator John Dickerson at Saturday’s Democratic debate if she agreed with Marco Rubio’s claim that the U.S. is at war with radical Islam. Clinton said she did not think the U.S. was at war with "Islam," prompting Dickerson to clarify the question.
"Just to interrupt. He didn't say all Muslims. He just said radical Islam," Dickerson said.
"I think you can talk about Islamists who clearly are also jihadists, but I think it’s not particularly helpful," Clinton said.
In the ad, the exchange between Dickerson and Clinton is paired with footage of Jeb Bush naming radical Islam as the enemy.
"For the life of me, I have a hard time understanding why people get twisted up in knots to avoid saying that this is radical Islamic terrorism," Bush said
The ad contrasts a 2014 comment by Clinton that Americans should "empathize" with the perspective of their enemies with Bush’s contention that "we should have no empathy for our enemies."
"We should destroy them, plain and simple," Bush said.
The ad ends by comparing Clinton and Bush’s comments about America’s role in the world.
"This cannot be an American fight," Clinton said about the effort to destroy Islamic State (IS). Clinton has expressed support for more active measures to defeat IS than President Obama has been willing to take, but critics contend that even these escalations would be insufficient to accomplish the ultimate objective.
"We’re not going to be the world’s policemen, but we sure as heck better be the world’s leader. There’s a huge difference. Without us leading, voids are filled," Bush said, referring to President Obama’s premature withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.