Hillary Clinton on ISIS: Military Action Critical But Not Enough to Stun Growth of Radical Group

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said pure brawn military tactics will not stop and kill the radical ISIS group from spreading its wings worldwide.

Speaking before an audience at the Canada 2020 conference in Ottawa, Clinton said trying to stun the widening reach and growth of the militant group will not be achieved by air power alone, nor by arms and bullets.

Admitting that "military action is critical" to prevent the ISIS' further advance, "we have to fight an information war as well as an air war," noting how the young people are the ones easily persuaded by the group because of the latter's affiliation with social media portals.

"This kind of jihadist extremism is expansionary," Clinton said before the Canada 2020 think-tank conference. "It is not satisfied with holding some towns and villages that straddle the border between Syria and Iraq." As such, it will not just rest on local victories, but would aspire to "launch attacks, to infiltrate through foreign fighters into western societies."

Read: Kurdish Female Soldier and Mother of 2 Arin Mirkan Willingly Volunteers to Become Suicide Bomber, Kills at least 27 ISIS Fighters

She said global governments must work on a long-term involvement and commitment to ensure that the growth of the militant ISIS group gets stunned immediately and at the root core. For one, the Arab nations, where the group holds' bailiwick for now, should be at the forefront of wiping out the extremists.

Nations should also work together to contain the group's social media propaganda which could be easily and immediately accessed by the young people. "ISIS is so savvy on social media" and is "a very attractive cause for alienated young people."

"Military action alone is not sufficient," she said. "It's a very long game," she added, stressing "hard-core jihadists" in the world right now could be in the 50,000 to 100,000 figure. "I think we turn away from it at our peril," she said.

Idris Nassan, a senior spokesman for the Kurdish fighters, had earlier said the airstrikes launched by the U.S.-led coalition are hardly softening the stance of the militant ISIS.

Read: ISIS Annihilation: Airstrikes Not Enough, Boots On Ground Needed; U.S. Military Spending For Operations Already at $1.1B for 3 Months