Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton outlined her vision to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militant group on Thursday morning.

Clinton's plan includes three elements, which starts by defeating IS, also referred to as ISIS and ISIL, in Iraq, Syria and across the Middle East. Second, she seeks to "disrupt and dismantle" the militant group's infrastructure that has been allowing the flow of fighters, propaganda and financing of militaristic arms. Finally, Clinton said the U.S. has to "harden" its defenses as well as the defenses of international allies from homegrown and external threats.

"The United States and our international coalition has been conducting this fight for more than a year," said Clinton. "It's time to begin a new phase and intensify and broaden our efforts to smash the would-be caliphate and deny ISIS control of territory in Iraq and Syria. That starts with a more effective coalition air campaign, with more allied planes, more strikes and a broader target set."

Clinton said an ongoing hurdle on defeating ISIS is the "shortage of good intelligence," therefore, she called for more intelligence in the Middle East region. Clinton said the goal is to achieve a similar step accomplished against al-Qaeda, and it would help identify and eliminate IS command, control and economic lifelines.

Clinton's plan also called for an improved air campaign but with the combination of ground forces with the goal to take back territory ISIS gained.

"Like President Obama, I do not believe that we should again have 100,000 American troops in combat in the Middle East. That is just not the smart move to make here. If we have learned anything from 15 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's that local people and nations have to secure their own communities. We can help them, and we should but we cannot substitute for them. But we can and should support local and regional ground forces in carrying out this mission," Clinton said, adding that a ground-troops campaign will only succeed if Iraqi Sunnis cooperate in the fight.

In regards to Syria, Clinton said there needs to be a political solution to its civil war that will provide a new government and new leadership. She also believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is making the Syrian war worse. Although she understands there is a role for Russia to help solve the Syrian conflict, Clinton said Assad's reign has to end.

Clinton also called for Congress to pass President Barack Obama's request for the authorization to use military force (AUMF). In addition to working with Turkish and Kurdish forces on the northern Syrian border, from air, ground and diplomacy, "I do believe we can crush ISIS's enclave of terror."

The former secretary of state's speech comes nearly a week after the Paris terror attacks on Nov. 13, when shootings and several bombs exploded, resulting in at least 129 deaths. On Thursday morning, Paris law enforcement confirmed the presumed ringleader of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed during a raid on Wednesday at Saint-Denis, France, located north of Paris.

The Paris terror attacks also saw the death of Mexican-American Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old student from El Monte, California, who was attending Cal State University. Gonzalez was in Paris as part of a study-abroad program. She was shot at a restaurant. Students and mourners held a vigil for Gonzalez on Nov. 15.

Clinton's opponents criticized her plan, connecting it to Obama's strategy. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus labeled Clinton as the "architect" of Obama's "failed" foreign policy, which he said resulted in the growth of radical Islamic terrorism and ISIS.

"Rather than putting forward a new plan to defeat ISIS, Hillary Clinton offered soaring platitudes and largely doubled down on the existing Obama strategy. Across the world, the Obama-Clinton foreign policy lies in tatters. From the failed reset with Russia, to the weak nuclear deal with Iran, to her State Department's refusal to add Boko Haram to its list of terror organizations, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated she is the wrong person to take on and defeat the growing threats facing the United States," said Priebus in a statement.

Steven Law, president and CEO of American Crossroads, a right-leaning non-profit organization, also named Clinton as the "chief architect" of the Obama administration's failing foreign policy. He added, "We will continue do whatever is necessary to demonstrate to voters how Clinton's disastrous record as Secretary of State makes her unfit for the presidency."

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.