Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spelled out her strategy for fighting terrorism Tuesday, making a not-so-disguised swipe at her Republican rivals.
"Shallow slogans don't add up to a strategy," Clinton said in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis. "Bluster and bigotry are not credentials for becoming commander-in-chief."
Her "bluster" remark was an apparent reference to Republican candidate Ted Cruz's threat to "carpet bomb until the desert glows." The "bigotry" comment most likely referred to Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Minneapolis is home to one of the United States' largest Muslim populations, including thousands of immigrants from Somalia.
Clinton said an anti-terrorism strategy must be comprehensive, including tighter screening of visa applicants who have been anywhere in the last five years where the Islamic State has been active.
She also called for a crackdown on terror recruitment and repeated her appeal to Internet providers to help dismantle terror networks that use social media.
The audience in Minneapolis applauded enthusiastically when Clinton called for stricter gun laws.
"Terrorists use guns to kill Americans. I think we should make it harder for them to do that,” she said. "It defies common sense that Republicans in Congress refuse to make it harder for potential terrorists to buy guns."
The shooters who killed 14 and wounded 22 in San Bernardino, California, earlier this month used weapons that were bought legally.
Republican presidential candidates say tougher gun laws are not the answers to terrorism. They have also said Clinton's actions and policies as secretary of state helped groups like the Islamic State flourish.
