Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders tussle over her Iraq War vote

Bernie Sanders hammers Clinton over her Iraq War vote
(Image credit: Getty Images)

At Thursday's MSNBC Democratic debate in New Hampshire, Rachel Maddow asked Hillary Clinton if she supports sending U.S. combat troops to Iraq or Syria to fight the Islamic State. "No," Clinton said. President Obama's plan of airstrikes and deploying Special Operations forces and other U.S. support personnel to Iraq "adds up to me," she said, but "I am against American combat troops in Iraq."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) started out his rebuttal by agreeing with Clinton on ISIS, but he then alluded to Clinton's vote to authorize the Iraq war in 2002. He also agreed with King Abdullah of Jordan, saying "the war against ISIS is a fight for the soul of Islam," and it needs to be Muslim troops on the ground. "For a dozen different reasons, not the least of which is that ISIS wants U.S. troops on the ground," he reiterated, it needs to be Muslim troops fighting ISIS, with the U.S. and Europe playing a supporting role.

When Chuck Todd later asked about Sanders' foreign policy advisers and plans, Sanders returned to the Iraq War vote. Clinton, as a former secretary of state, has more experience on foreign policy, he said, "but experience is not the only point — judgment is," referencing Obama's famous line against Clinton in the 2008 primary. If his point wasn't clear, Sanders added that in 2002, "one of us voted the right way, and one of us didn't." Clinton had a quick retort, saying President Obama trusted her judgment enough to make her secretary of state.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.