Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont, is decidedly an underdog in the upcoming Democratic primary election. Fortunately, though, this gives him the cache to speak truth to power in a way a frontrunner like Hillary Clinton couldn’t, especially when it comes to foreign policy.
In an interview this past Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, the sincere Senator from Vermont pulled no punches when channeling the American people’s frustrations with the constant crises in the Middle East. Sen. Sanders explained that, “The American people are becoming sick and tired of the world and Middle East — Saudi Arabia and the other countries — saying, ‘Hey, we wash our hands of it.
The American soldiers and the American taxpayer will do all of the work for us.” Sen. Sanders continued, pinpointing the root causes of the perilous ISIS situation in the region, reminding that it was former President George W. Bush and his administration that had invaded Iraq under false pretense, deposing Saddam Hussein while leaving a wake of destruction and a vacuum of power – precisely the conditions needed for ISIS to form and prosper. He explained, “Of course, it is very easy to criticize [President Obama],” Sanders replied.
“But this is an incredibly complex problem. We are here now due to the disastrous mistakes of the Bush-Cheney era, which led us into the war in Iraq at the outset, which in turn brought about the can of worms that we’re attempting to seal shut right now.”