Clinton: Saudi Arabia Should Focus on Fighting ISIS Instead of Yemen

Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, has advised Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop the "direct financial support" of their citizens to extremist organizations, specifically urging Saudi Arabia to shift its focus from the Yemen conflict to combating ISIS. In remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Clinton, a potential Democratic candidate for the upcoming presidential election, recommended three main strategies to counter the Islamic State (ISIS): 1) Defeating ISIS in Syria, Iraq, and across the Middle East, 2) Disrupting and eradicating the infrastructure that fosters terrorism, along with its economic and propaganda arms worldwide, and 3) Strengthening defenses for the U.S. and its allies against external and internal threats. Clinton's positions on combating the ISIS threat have also been reflected in her conversation with Fareed Zakaria from CNN. She emphasized that fighting ISIS is a global battle that the U.S. must lead, but she opposes the use of ground troops in Syria, even in the event of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Part of Clinton's remarks on Thursday stressed the necessity of focusing on combating ISIS. The former U.S. Secretary of State advised Saudi Arabia and Turkey to redirect their attention from the "Yemen conflict" and "engagement with Kurdish forces" towards the battle against the Islamic State. Clinton also referenced a plan she presented in September, stating that its goal was to counter the increasing "influence of Iran in the region" and to address "proxy terrorist groups like Hezbollah [Lebanon] and Hamas." According to the Democratic presidential candidate, Iran and the so-called "Islamic State" cannot be viewed as separate challenges. Clinton stated that increasing the confidence of U.S. Arab allies while simultaneously raising the cost of what she described as "Iran's bad behavior" would have a better impact on the fight against the "Islamic State." She also called on countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop their citizens' "financial support" for "fundamentalist" organizations. Clinton acknowledged that the current U.S. demand for the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not a top priority. However, the former Secretary of State emphasized that focusing on the battle against ISIS will not diminish pressure on Iran to fulfill its commitments regarding the nuclear issue. Opposition to U.S. ground troop presence in Syria was another aspect of Clinton's remarks on Thursday, where she stressed that even in the event of a terrorist operation on U.S. soil, she would resist sending ground troops to Syria. Clinton predicted that if a potential terrorist attack occurs in the U.S., the U.S. ground presence in Syria would "certainly increase, but that would be a mistake." Instead, she emphasized her support for "deploying more special forces," "increasing the authority of American trainers in Iraq," and "utilizing an air coalition in the region." The former Secretary of State stated that she broadly supports the Obama administration's efforts to combat ISIS but disagrees with the "government's focus on removing Bashar al-Assad from power." She also supported establishing a no-fly zone in northern Syria, contrary to Barack Obama's position, and called on Arab countries to further equip ground forces in Syria. Clinton recommended that the U.S. should pressure groups on the ground to change their priorities and cooperate with each other. Additionally, the former Secretary of State criticized stricter measures regarding the acceptance of refugees, stating that the U.S. should welcome Middle Eastern refugees despite tightening its defensive measures at airports, financial sectors, and cyberspace. She remarked that "turning away orphaned children, conducting religious tests, discriminating against Muslims, and closing doors to any Syrian refugee is not who we [Americans] are. We are better than this." Clinton's comments were a response to Republican efforts in the House of Representatives to pass legislation to halt the acceptance of refugees, which passed the House despite President Obama's veto threat. Earlier, the U.S. State Department stated that despite attempts by some members of Congress to stop or limit the refugee acceptance program, the country still intends to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees. John Kirby, the State Department spokesperson, mentioned in a press conference on Wednesday that both the Republican and Democratic parties had previously supported the refugee resettlement program, and this program would remain unchanged.