Hillary Clinton rips 'inflammatory rhetoric' from Cruz, Trump after Brussels

Hillary Clinton tore into both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump on Wednesday, decrying their "offensive, inflammatory rhetoric" towards Muslims as she outlined her strategy to keep America safe from terrorism in the wake of the attacks in Brussels, Belgium.

"In our fight against radical jihadism we have to do what actually works. One thing we know that does not work is offensive, inflammatory rhetoric that demonizes all Muslims," Clinton said at Stanford University.

The Democratic presidential front-runner warned against calls the two Republican candidates have made to build walls around America (Trump), carpet-bomb ISIS (Cruz), patrol Muslim neighborhoods (Cruz), torture suspected terrorists (Trump) and ban Syrian refugees (both) hurt efforts to stop terrorism.

"When Republican candidates like Ted Cruz call for treating American Muslims like criminals and for racially profiling predominantly Muslim neighborhoods it’s wrong, it’s counterproductive, it’s dangerous," Clinton continued, warning that it would be a "serious mistake" to "begin carpet-bombing populated areas into oblivion," as Cruz has called for.

"Proposing that doesn't make you sound tough, it makes you sound like you're in over your head," she said. "Slogans aren't strategy. Loose cannons tend to misfire."

Cruz's call on Tuesday to "patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods" in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels drew swift condemnation from Democrats, American Muslims and even the New York Police Department.

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Clinton also took aim at Trump, mocking his calls to build a wall on the Mexican border as a security measure by pointing out that many jihadis are radicalized online.

"When other candidates talk about building walls around America I want to ask them, how high does the wall have to be to keep the internet out?" she said.

And she ripped Trump's comments earlier this week that the U.S. should spend less on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, warning that it would empower Russia.

"If Mr. Trump gets his way it would be like Christmas in the Kremlin." 

"If Mr. Trump gets his way it would be like Christmas in the Kremlin. It will make America less safe and the world more dangerous," she warned.

Clinton's speech is her latest attempt to draw a stark contrast between herself and Republicans on foreign policy and national security as she pivots towards the general election. Her argument is she, as former secretary of state, is best positioned to keep the country safe while both of her potential opponents don't know what they're talking about and say dangerous things.

"We can’t let fear stop us from doing what’s necessary from keeping us safe nor can we let it push us into reckless actions that end up making us less safe," she warned.

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