United States Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has backed elements of President Barack Obama's strategy to fight Islamic State militants in a debate, drawing criticism from all sides for saying "we now finally are where we need to be" in Syria.
Top rival Bernie Sanders accused Clinton of being too quick to push for regime change at the debate in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday, while Republican candidate Carly Fiorina, said the former secretary of state was too willing to cede US policy to other countries.
The debate was the Democrats' first since the deadly attack by a pair of radicalized Muslims in San Bernardino, California on December 2 which, along with the fatal attacks in Paris last month, elevated national security to the top of the campaign agenda.
Obama has relied heavily on US air strikes against Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) targets in Syria and Iraq, and has deployed dozens of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces. In Iraq, about 3500 US troops are assisting Iraqi forces.
Like Obama, Clinton backs the use of special forces, but says a large deployment of US ground forces in the Middle East would be counterproductive.
"We now finally are where we need to be. We have a strategy and a commitment to go after ISIS," she said, noting a United Nations Security Council resolution had brought "the world together to go after a political transition in Syria."
That drew a quick response from Republican candidates, who seized the opportunity to tie Clinton to a Syria strategy that has yielded few tangible gains to date.
Fiorina, a former technology executive, said Clinton is too willing to rely on UN resolutions rather than acting unilaterally. "It's what 'leading from behind' is, I guess," she said on Fox News Sunday.
"No, Hillary Clinton, we are not 'where we need to be' in fight against ISIS," former Florida Governor Jeb Bush wrote on Twitter during the debate. Hours later, his campaign released a video contrasting her comments with TV footage of the San Bernardino and Paris attacks.
Attacking from the other side, Sanders said the US should focus on defeating Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, rather than also trying to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.
"We could get rid of Assad tomorrow, but that would create another political vacuum that would benefit ISIS," the Vermont senator said.
Since the start of the conflict in 2011, the Obama administration has applied diplomatic pressure to push Assad out of office but has stopped short of military attacks against his regime.
Clinton backs that approach, but has struck a more hawkish tone in other areas. She has called for more airstrikes and a greater use of special-operations ground forces and supports setting up a no-fly zone. Obama says enforcing a no-fly zone would require aircraft and other assets that could be better deployed directly against Islamic State.
DYNAMIC OF RACE UNCHANGED
Clinton also vowed not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans if elected next November, questioning the affordability of some of Sanders' proposals such as creation of a single-payer healthcare system and tuition-free college.
With just six weeks left until Iowa kicks off the Democratic nominating contest on February 1, the debate appeared to do little to change the trajectory of the 2016 Democratic presidential race for the White House.
Clinton holds a big lead in national polls over Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who are both still searching for breakthrough moments that could shift the dynamic.
In a two-hour debate that largely focused on foreign policy, Clinton also defended her advocacy in 2011 for ousting Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, a position which Republican presidential candidates have criticized.
"I am not giving up on Libya and no one should," Clinton said.
She also accused Sanders of hypocrisy for supporting regime change in Libya when he had voted in the Senate for a non-binding resolution that called on Gaddafi to resign and support a peaceful transition to democracy.
Clinton also defended her support for a no-fly zone in Syria, which she said would create safe areas to protect people on the ground from Assad's forces and Islamic State.
But when pressed by the debate moderators, she would not say if that meant she would be willing to shoot down Russian planes, saying "I do not think it would come to that. We are already de-conflicting air space."
Trump calls Clinton a liar
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Sunday that Clinton was a "liar" for claiming that his proposal to ban entry of all foreign Muslims into the US has aided Islamic State's propaganda efforts.
Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Trump said Clinton had no evidence to back up a charge she made during a debate on Saturday that the Republican frontrunner is becoming the extremist group's "best recruiter."
"She's a liar and everybody knows that," Trump said. "She just made this up in thin air."
Trump's call to ban all Muslims from entering the US followed the San Bernardino deadly attack.
