At the Democratic presidential debates Bernie Sanders blamed US policy in the Middle East for creating instability in the region. Martin O’Malley joined the criticism, while Hillary Clinton had a hard time defending her vote supporting the Iraq invasion.
The trio of Democrat presidential nomination contenders met for the second debate in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday. In the aftermath of the deadly attacks in Paris that claimed over 120 lives and injured over 300, the issue of the turmoil in the Middle East and the advancement of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) was the first topic up for debate.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called the invasion of Iraq, “One of the worst foreign policy blunders in the modern history of the United States.” His criticism was targeted at the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who voted for the Iraq War, when she was a New York senator.
“I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive instability we’re seeing right now,” Sanders said.
Clinton hit back by referring to the “historical context,” behind the decision to invade.
“The United States has unfortunately been victimized by terrorism going back decades,” she said, recalling the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as 9/11.
Clinton tried to justify both her position on Iraq and her ties to Wall Street by raising 9/11. #DemDebate
However, Clinton was forced to backtrack and with retrospect, would have reversed the decision she made over a decade ago.
Dismissing the Iraq War as a “mistake” is disgusting. It minimizes the consequences and removes blame. The Iraq War was a crime #DemDebate