U.S. presidential candidate Clinton calls for intelligence surge against terrorism

U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for an intelligence surge against terrorism Wednesday, responding to Tuesday's terrorist bombings in Brussels, the Belgian capital, which killed dozens of people and wounded more than 180 others.

As the front runner in the Democratic Party primary, Clinton called on the European Union and the United States to try harder when dealing with security protocols, while reinforcing public hot spots and areas outside of guarded perimeters, pointing to what she described as "soft sites" like the airport and the subway system targeted in the Brussels attack.

"To do this, we need an intelligence surge, and so do our allies," she said at Stanford University in Northern California on the U.S. West Coast, where Silicon Valley was hatched, urging technology players to work with the U.S. federal government and help defeat radicalism.

"That means working with the brightest minds here in Silicon Valley to more effectively track and analyze ISIS' social media posts," she said.

Clinton also rebuked rhetorics by her Republican opponents, such as presidential front runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, in the wake of the latest terror attacks, including the one last December in San Bernardino, Southern California.

"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 and it's dangerous." Clinton said.

National security and counter-terrorism are hot topics on campaign trails in this election year. Republicans have been blaming President Barack Obama as well as Clinton for policy failures that have led to the turmoil in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State (IS). Endi