The Democrat also condemned the Republicans' remarks about Muslims and said her administration would not support torturing terrorism suspects

She mocked Cruz for suggesting 'carpet bombing' the Middle East and Trump for his plans to build a wall

Clinton also went after Trump and Cruz this week in her speech aimed at

He said 'both Trump's and Cruz's approaches are the kind of shoot-from-the-hip slogans that demonstrate what I fear is a stunning lack of knowledge about national security and about our fundamental values'

'These are not serious proposals. They are political slogans...They're reckless, and they won't work,' he said today of Trump's plans

Panetta is supporting Hillary Clinton for president and made the remarks during a call for reporters hosted by her campaign

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta castigated Donald Trump and Ted Cruz today for proposals he says are 'irresponsible,' and 'dangerous' and he believes will put the nation's security in peril.

'Donald Trump is saying we should torture people, and bomb families of terrorists, and walk away from NATO, and build walls and round up Muslims and keep them out of our country.

The ex-Obama administration official said, 'These are not serious proposals. They are political slogans and not strategies for dealing with this threat. They're reckless, and they won't work.'

Panetta is supporting Hillary Clinton for president and made the remarks during a call for reporters hosted by her campaign.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta castigated Donald Trump and Ted Cruz today for proposals he says are 'irresponsible,' and 'dangerous' and he believes will put the nation's security in peril.

The ex-Obama administration official said, 'These are not serious proposals. They are political slogans and not strategies for dealing with this threat. They're reckless, and they won't work.' He's seen here on Capitol Hill in January

'There's no question in my mind that the most qualified person to assume the duties of commander-in-chief and provide that necessary world leadership on day one is Secretary Hillary Clinton,' he told reporters today.

A former Army lieutenant who represented California in Congress, Panetta rose through the Democratic ranks to become director of the Office of Management and Budget. He later served as White House Chief of Staff during Bill Clinton's presidential administration.

Panetta was Barack Obama's first CIA Director, holding that title for nearly two and a half years, and his second Secretary of Defense. He stepped down three weeks after Hillary Clinton's final day as a member of Obama's cabinet.

Clinton is battling Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for the White House but is increasingly angling her attacks toward Republicans in the race as her party's primary winds down.

She had harsh words for both Cruz and Trump on Wednesday in the wake of the Brussels attacks.

The Democratic front-runner said it would 'be a serious mistake to begin carpet bombing populated areas into oblivion,' something the Texas senator has said he supported to take out ISIS in the Middle East.

'Proposing that doesn't make you sound tough, it makes you sound like you're in over your head,' the former secretary of state said.

'Slogans aren't a strategy, loose cannons tend to misfire,' she added.

Taking a Silicon Valley-themed jab at Trump's trademark line, Clinton stated '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?'

Reacting to Clinton's speech today, Panetta said, it was 'statesman like, it was serious, it was tough, and I think it targeted the key objectives.'

'There is I believe a clear contrast in this election between Secretary Clinton's approach, which I believe is serious comprehensive and tough, to those proposals that are being recommended by Republican candidates,' he contended.

The former defense official said the proposals we're 'hearing from the other candidates in this race on the Republican side are very irresponsible and dangerous proposals that I think will put our national security at risk and further divide us from the very allies that we need in order to win this war against ISIS.'

Ted Cruz's plan to 'infiltrate' Muslim neighborhoods, which is hard to even understand, and sounds like a violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of law abiding citizens,' he said, 'further antagonizes the Muslim communities, which we absolutely need to be on our side if we're ultimately going to win.'

'So both Trump's and Cruz's approaches are the kind of shoot-from-the-hip slogans that demonstrate what I fear is a stunning lack of knowledge about national security and about our fundamental values,' Panetta argued.

Panetta is supporting Hillary Clinton for president and made the remarks during a call for reporters hosted by her campaign.

Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the country should not be 'reckless' in the wake of the terrorist threat - seen play out this week in Brussels, Belgium - condemning comments made by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz

On Wednesday Clinton sprinkled condemnation of the duo throughout a counter-terrorism speech at Stanford University, delivered after Tuesday's ISIS attacks in Brussels.

'You know this is a very personal issue for me having served as a senator fro New York on 9/11,' she stated. 'Having seen the horrors that were produced by a well planned and executed attack on our country, [I know] how important it is that we stay ahead of those who wish to do us great harm.'

'Without panic, without paranoia, but with resolve,' she continued. 'Not to give into the very behaviors that the terrorists are hoping to engender.'

Clinton said the country's leaders shouldn't be 'reckless' before pinpointing a number of statements made by Trump and Cruz she thought fit the bill.

Beyond carpet bombing, Clinton advised that it was not smart for the country to engage in another ground war in the Middle East.

'If we've learned anything from Iraq and Afghanistan it's that people and nations have to secure their own communities,' she said.

And she discussed statements both Republican candidates have made about Muslims.

Trump shocked the political establishment in December when he called for a complete ban of Muslims entering the United States, saying he wanted to put a temporary hold on letting in people of the religion in the aftermath of the ISIS-inspired attacks in San Bernardino, California.

'In our fight against radical Jihadism, we have to do what works,' Clinton said. 'One thing we know that does not work is offensive, inflammatory rhetoric that demonizes all Muslims.'

Hillary Clinton greeted attendees of today's national security address at Stanford University, which she catered to the Silicon Valley audience by mentioning technology several times

'They are most likely to recognize the warning signs of radicalization before it's too late. And the best positioned to block it,' she added.

She also took Cruz to task for saying this week that law enforcement should target Muslim-American neighborhoods to combat a growing 'radical Islamic terror' threat at home.

'So when Republican candidates like Ted Cruz call for treating American Muslims like criminals and for racial profiling predominantly Muslim neighborhoods, it's wrong, it's counter-productive, it's dangerous,' Clinton said.

On a broader scale, Clinton said comments like Cruz's impact alliances around the world.

'Having actually done this I can tell you insulting allies and partners is not a good way to start,' she said, touting her previous role as secretary of state.

While a number of Republicans, and some Democrats too, have said they wanted to stop the flow of Syrian refugees into the United States, Clinton cautiously took the opposite stance.

'It would be doubly cruel if ISIS can not only force families from their homes, but also prevent them from finding new ones,' she noted.

Trump's stance on NATO, which he suggested the United States should spend less money on, instead having other allies pick up the bill, Clinton called 'dangerous' and a 'protection racket.'

'NATO, in particular, is one of the best investments America has ever made,' she said.

'Putin already hopes to divide Europe,' she said of the Russian leader. 'If Mr. Trump gets his way it will be like Christmas in the Kremlin – it will make America less safe and the world more dangerous.'

IGNORED: Clinton is battling Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for the White House but is increasingly angling her attacks toward Republicans in the race as her party's primary winds down

Finally, she blasted the Republican frontrunner for throwing his support behind controversial interrogation techniques.

'Another thing we know that does not work, based on lots of empirical evidence is torture,' Clinton remarked.

Trump has said more than once that he'd push for changes in the law that allow for waterboarding of suspected terrorists.

He said to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday afternoon, 'They can chop off heads and drown people in cages, heavy steel cages, and we can't waterboard?'

Alluding to President George W. Bush's administration and the CIA's admission to waterboarding, Clinton said Wednesday, 'I'm proud of being part of the administration that banned torture after too many years in which we had lost our way.'

She quoted Republican Sen. John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam that Trump once insulted who is adamantly anti-torture after his own horrific experience, and coming full circle again mentioned Trump's favorite project: his proposed wall along the border with Mexico.

'America doesn't cower in fear,' she said. 'Or hide behind walls.'

Trump and Cruz are two of the last Republicans standing. The other is John Kasich of Ohio, a dark horse candidate who hopes to nab the nomination at an open convention.

Both top Republicans have a loyal following that has not been deterred by their controversial statements about Muslims.

Panetta insisted today that neither will win over the general electorate, though, echoing other confident Democrats.

The 'emotional responses' of Trump voters 'I do not believe that represents the...broad spectrum of voters, citizens in this country,' Panetta said today on the call.

'I think deep down the American people understand that if we are to be safe in the future, that we've gotta have a responsible leadership like that being proposed by Secretary Clinton.