Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said that international rivals should be aware that he’s fully willing to use military force as a future commander-in-chief, if circumstances call for such a decision.
Not only should the United States be willing to use military force if necessary, but in order to present an effective front, the U.S. should have the strongest military in the world, Sanders said Sunday on ABC’S “This Week.”
While generally known for his opposition to war and his dovish foreign policy, Sanders confirmed that “Yes, there are times when you have to use force. No question about it.”
And throughout his 25-year career in Congress, Sanders has definitely both supported and opposed U.S. conflicts. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991 and again the war against Iraq in 2003, though following 9/11, he voted to send troops to Afghanistan. And following the results of U.S. troop presence in Iraq, Sanders is quite proud of his past stances and believes that the unfolding situation in the region essentially vindicates his views.
“I think we could’ve gotten Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in a way that did not require a war,” Sanders said, according to Military.com, calling the U.S. effort in Iraq one of the “worst foreign policy blunders we have ever seen.” Instead, Sanders said that there are other ways to encourage compliance apart from war, which explains his support of the Iran nuclear deal, along with 31 other Democratic senators.
But apart from the interview, his platform on foreign policy is otherwise largely undeveloped.
The reason why? As far as Sanders is concerned, Americans seem far more focused on economic issues affecting the middle class like income inequality, and second, the race is only three months in at this point, meaning there’s plenty of time to expand into other issues.
Sanders still polls far behind Hillary Clinton on a national level, but he has been posting steady gains in frontrunner states like Iowa and New Hampshire. A new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll shows that Sanders is now at 30 percent, just seven points behind Clinton.
Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.