Democratic Primary Debate: on War & Peace

Elizabeth Warren: Exit from Mideast wars, but do it the right way

Senator Warren: I think that we ought to get out of the Middle East. I don't think we should have troops in the Middle East. But we have to do it the right way, the smart way. What this President has done is that he has sucked up to dictators, he has made impulsive decisions that often his own team doesn't understand, he has cut and run on our allies, and he has enriched himself at the expense of the United States of America. In Syria, he has created a bigger than ever humanitarian crisis, he has helped ISIS get another foothold, a new lease on life. I sit on the Armed Services Committee, I talk with our military leaders about this. I was in Iraq and went through the neighborhoods that ISIS destroyed. We need to get out, but we need to do this through a negotiated solution. There is no military solution in this region.

Joe Biden: Troop withdrawal from Syria was shameful

Pete Buttigieg: We have betrayed our allies & values by exiting Syria

Mayor Buttigieg: Well, respectfully, Congresswoman, I think that is dead wrong. The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence, it's a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal, by this President, of American allies and American values. Look, I didn't think we should've gone to Iraq in the first place, I think we need to get out of Afghanistan, but it's also the case that a small number of specialized special operations forces and intelligence capabilities were the only thing that stood between that part of Syria and what we're seeing now, which is the beginning of a genocide, and the resurgence of ISIS.

Pete Buttigieg: Syrian withdrawal undermines our soldiers' honor

Mayor Pete BUTTIGIEG: Soldiers in the field are reporting that, for the first time, they feel ashamed of what their country has done.

Rep. Tulsi GABBARD: What you're saying is that you would continue to support having US troops in Syria for an indefinite period of time to continue this regime change war?

BUTTIGIEG: You can put an end to endless war embracing Trump's policy as you're doing.

GABBARD: Will you end the regime change war is the question?

BUTTIGIEG: What we were doing in Syria was keeping our word. Part of what makes it possible for the United States to get people to put their lives on the line to back us up is the idea that we will back them up too. When I was deployed, not just the Afghan National Army Forces, but the janitors put their lives on the line just by working with US Forces. It is undermining the honor of

Tulsi Gabbard: End the regime change war in Syria

GABBARD: First of all, we've got to understand the reality of the situation there, which is that the slaughter of the Kurds being done by Turkey is yet another negative consequence of the regime change war that we've been waging in Syria. Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media who have been championing and cheerleading this regime change war. As president, I will end these regime change wars by doing two things: ending the draconian sanctions that are really a modern day siege; and I would make sure that we stop supporting terrorists like Al-Qaeda in Syria who have been the ground force in this ongoing regime change war.

Tulsi Gabbard: Indefinite stay in Syria IS "endless war"

Mayor Pete BUTTIGIEG: Soldiers in the field are reporting that, for the first time, they feel ashamed of what their country has done.

GABBARD: What you're saying is that you would continue to support having U.S. troops in Syria for an indefinite period of time to continue this regime change war that has caused so many refugees to flee Syria, that you would continue to have our country involved in a war that has undermined our national security, you would continue this policy of the U.S. actually providing arms and support to terrorist groups in Syria because they are the ones who have been the ground force in this regime change