Bernie Sanders in ABC This Week interviews during 2015

On War & Peace: Form Muslim-led coalition to defeat ISIS

SANDERS: What the president is trying to do is to thread a very difficult needle. He's trying to defeat ISIS. He's trying to get rid of this horrendous dictator, Assad. But at the same time, he doesn't want our troops stuck on the ground. And I agree with that. But I am maybe a little bit more conservative on this than he is. I worry that once we get sucked into this, once some of our troops get killed and once maybe a plane gets shot down, that we send more in and more in. But I will say this. ISIS must be defeated primarily by the Muslim nations in that region. America can't do it all. And we need an international coalition. Russia should be part of it--U.K., France, the entire world--supporting Muslim troops on the ground, fighting for the soul of Islam and defeating this terrible ISIS organization.

On Families & Children: Increase payroll tax to guarantee paid family leave

SANDERS: I think if you're looking about guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, which virtually every other major country has, so that when a mom gives birth, she doesn't have to go back to work in two weeks, or there's an illness in a family, dad or mom can stay home with the kids. That will require a small increase in the payroll tax. According to Senator Gillibrand's legislation and we can accomplish that with just a small increase in the payroll tax.

Q: That's going to hit everybody.

SANDERS: Yes, it would. But it would mean that we would join the rest of the industrialized world. We are behind many other countries in protecting the middle class and working families.

On Social Security: Criminal to not have COLA increases for seniors

Prescription drug costs have gone up. Seniors are paying more. We need to change the formula and we've got legislation in to do that, to ascertain what real cost of living is for seniors.

And I am going to fight very hard. You've got millions of seniors trying to get by on $13,000, $14,000 a year making choices between medicine and food. That is criminal. And we've got to change the formula by which COLAs are depended--are created so that seniors get a fair shake.

On Tax Reform: Tax increases may affect more than top 1%

SANDERS: We have to tax Wall Street speculation. When you see the rich's effective tax rates is lower than the effective tax rates of truck drivers, then the wealthy have got to pay more. We'll end the loophole that allows large corporations to stash their money in the Cayman Islands and avoid paying federal income taxes. We'll raise the estate tax so that billionaires end up paying more in taxes.

Q: Previously, you said that 90% marginal rate is not too high. So how high are you willing to go on that top marginal rate?

SANDERS: We'll come up with that rate but it will be a lot higher than it is right now.

Q: But to pay for all of your programs,

On War & Peace: Diplomacy and coalition-building before unilateral action

SANDERS: Well, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals, but I would say that Bush's decision to get us into a war in Iraq unilaterally was one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the history of the US. I think sensible foreign policy and military policies suggest that it cannot be the US alone which solves all of the world's [problems].

Q: In all circumstances?

SANDERS: I didn't say in all circumstances. But I think that there's a lesson to be learned from Iraq and Afghanistan, then what a great military power like the United States is about is trying to use diplomacy before war and working with other countries rather than doing it alone. At the end of the day, a military coalition is what will succeed, not the US doing it alone.

On War & Peace: Keep U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan

SANDERS: Well, yeah, I won't give you the exact number. Clearly, we do not want to see the Taliban gain more power and I think we need a certain nucleus of American troops present in Afghanistan to try to provide the training and support the Afghan Army needs.

On Foreign Policy: US should be more selective about using drone strikes

SANDERS: I think you can argue that there are times and places where drone attacks have been effective, and there are times and places where they have been absolutely counter-effective and have caused more problems when they have solved. When you kill innocent people, the end result is that people in the region become anti-American who otherwise would not have been. So, I think we have to use drones very, very selectively and effectively. That has not always been the case.

On War & Peace: Middle Eastern countries must contribute to fight ISIS

On Budget & Economy: Economic issues take a larger toll on minority groups

But to be honest with you, given the disparity that we're seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community. And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities.

On Gun Control: Gun legislation must work for both rural & urban Americans

SANDERS: Well, I think the people of Vermont know differently. They know in every single race that I have run, with the exception of one, the NRA and other gun lobbyists supported my opponent. I voted for banning assault weapons, doing away with the gun show loophole and fighting for instant background checks so that we make sure that guns do not fall in the hands of those people who should not have it. So, I have a strong record. But what we need to do is bridge this cultural divide between rural America and urban America and come up with some common sense legislation that accommodates everybody. What we really need is a national dialogue.

On Principles & Values: What's wrong with modeling U.S. on socialist Scandinavia?

SANDERS: Well, so long as we know what democratic socialism is. And if we know that in countries, in Scandinavia, like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, they are very democratic countries, obviously. The voter turnout is a lot higher than it is in the US. In those countries, health care is the right of all people. And in those countries, college education is free. In those countries, retirement benefits, childcare are stronger than in the US.

Q: I can hear the Republican attack ad right now: "He wants American to look more like Scandinavia."

SANDERS: That's right. And what's wrong with that? What's wrong when you have more income and wealth equality? What's wrong when they have a stronger middle class in many ways than we do, higher minimum wage than we do, and they are stronger on the environment? We do a lot in our country, which is good, but we can learn from other countries.