The global response to the Brussels terrorist attacks

Prime Minister Charles Michel (front row, far right) assured the people of Belgium that the government would do everything in its capacity to protect their way of life. Meanwhile, King Philippe (front row, second from left) delivered a public address in which he called on Belgians to respond to terrorism "with firmness, calm and dignity."

EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini broke down during a live press conference in Jordan on the day of the attacks. She expressed solidarity with the victims of terrorism in the Middle East, before cutting her comments short. "Today is a difficult day," she said, sobbing.

The leaders of France, which only four months earlier had suffered its own devastating attack in Paris, called for a united front against terrorism. "We are at war," said Prime Minister Manuel Valls in the wake of the Brussels bombings.

"Our horror in response to the attacks is equally as strong as our determination to fight terrorism," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But one of her fiercest critics, Frauke Petry of the anti-immigrant AfD party, took to Facebook to lash out at what she called hypocritical and useless responses to the attacks. "Time for changes!" she wrote.

Coming just three days after a suicide bomber blew himself up in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu denounced the attacks shortly after they happened. The same day, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an organization representing six Gulf state countries, pledged support for Brussels.

"We will never let them win," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, referring to the terrorists. Other lawmakers weren't so optimistic, however, including Nigel Farage, a "Brexit" advocate. The "idea EU open borders somehow makes us safer is crackers," Farage posted on Twitter.

"The fight against this evil demands the highest level of international cooperation," said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been criticized for his support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In November, a Russian airliner was downed over Egypt in what authorities believe was a bomb attack. IS claimed responsibility for the tragedy.

The US president responded to critics who argued he should've cut his Latin America trip short following the attacks. "That is how we are going to defeat these terrorist groups," he said while in Argentina. "A lot of it is also going to be to say, 'you do not have power over us. We are strong. Our values are right. You offer nothing except death.'"

While Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders reiterated the need to destroy "IS," Republican candidates continued to raise eyebrows. Ted Cruz said police should "patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he'd been proven right for once calling Brussels a "hell hole."