by Kevin Peterford – In the midst of Primary season, National Security remains one of the biggest issues that voters are concerned about. Obviously all of the candidates want to stop terrorism in its tracks, but different candidates propose different means of achieving this goal. This article will be the first of many articles that give a brief overview of how the Democratic and Republican primary candidates hope to curb the terrorist and extremist groups that threaten the United States and the rest of the world. This article will summarize Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders and his views of war and combating ISIS.
According to Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, “war must be the last recourse in international relations, not the first.” Quartz believes Senator Sanders, faced with a national security crisis, would only deploy the US military as the last resort. In the past, Senator Sanders voted against the first Gulf War as well as the 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, following the Twin Towers attack on 9/11, Senator Sanders did vote to authorize the use of military force against al-Qaeda. Senator Sanders’ reluctance to go to war or use the military may be because he feels it is too expensive.
In addition to how expensive it is to actually fund a war, Senator Sanders believes it costs too much to send thousands of people off to fight the expensive wars. In The Boston Globe, Senator Sanders wrote about how hard it is for people to rebuild their lives and support their families when they return from overseas. Senator Sanders firmly believes that taking care of and supporting veterans needs to be a priority. “That’s the contract we have with the people who put their lives on the lines to defend us.”
As for dealing with ISIS, Bernie Sanders believes “there is no way that the United States can or should lead this effort.” Senator Sanders wants the Middle-Eastern countries near ISIS’s areas of activity to lead the fight and provide the ground troops. With those countries leading the fight, Senator Sanders believes that the United States should only play a role of support. According to feeltherbern.org, Bernie Sanders believes that by putting United States boots on the ground against the Islamic State, it could lead to “perpetual warfare in the Middle East.”
Senator Sanders believes war in general should always be a last resort. He believes the costs of war, financially and emotionally, are far too high. Lastly, in the fight against ISIS, Senator Sanders believes it is up to the countries surrounding ISIS to lead the fight and for the United States of America to lend a hand of support.
Editor’s note: Kevin Peterford intends to write his next article on a similar topic with the focus on a leading Republican Nomination Candidate.
