8th Democratic Primary Debate: on War & Peace
Joe Biden:
FactCheck: removed troops from Iraq, but they went back
Biden spun his role in bringing troops home from Iraq when he was vice president. Biden said, "The president [Obama] turned to me with the entire security apparatus and said, 'Joe, I want you to organize getting 156,000 troops out of Iraq.' I did that."
It's true that in 2009 Biden chaired a committee that oversaw the troop withdrawal, while also keeping an eye on economic and political issues in Iraq. The Biden committee included representatives from the Defense Department, the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, the Treasury Department and other agencies.
But what Biden fails to mention is that later--in Obama's second term, with Biden still vice president--the U.S. sent troops back into Iraq to combat the Islamic State
fighters who had occupied much of the country. Near the end of the Obama administration, in late September 2016, the number of U.S. troops deployed exceeded 5,000.
Source: FactCheck.org on 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
Tom Steyer:
Obama got Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions
Steyer claimed that Obama got "Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions." This is a matter of dispute. Iran's intent is unknown, but the Iran nuclear agreement could also be viewed as curbing or delaying the country's ambition--not ending it.The Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was implemented in 2016. Its aim was to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. It attempts to do this by requiring Iran to reduce the number of operating centrifuges and its stockpile of uranium, while
allowing International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to monitor Iran's declared nuclear facilities. In exchange, Iran won relief from international sanctions and the ability to continue to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
Under Trump, the
U.S. has withdrawn from the nuclear agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. The president and other Republicans have criticized the deal for allowing Iran to continue to enrich uranium and giving it access to billions of dollars in frozen assets.
Source: FactCheck.org on 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
Bernie Sanders:
Killing bad leaders leads to international anarchy
There are bad leaders all over the world. Kim Jong-un in North Korea is probably responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of his people. We cannot go around saying you're a bad guy, we're going to assassinate you.
If that happens, you're opening the door to international anarchy that every government in the world will then be subjected to attacks and assassination. What we have got to do is strengthen the State Department and our diplomatic capabilities.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Bernie Sanders:
I listened about Iraq; they were lying thru their teeth
I also heard the arguments in terms of the war in Iraq from Bush, from Cheney, from John Bolton. If you hear what I said, it's on YouTube, my fears about all the destabilization that would take place by the US invading Iraq. That is what happened.
Trump wants to build a wall around America. The problem is if we are going to deal with issues like climate change, not only do we in America have to take on the greed of the fossil fuel industry, we have to lead the entire world. It's a global issue.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Elizabeth Warren:
Nobody sees solutions in Afghanistan, so end the endless war
Nobody sees a solution to this war. Nobody can describe what winning looks like. All they can describe is endless war. The Afghan Government controls less than 60% of the land. The opium trade is higher than ever. We sent our troops in and they did
their best. They were there for us, but we need to be there for them. And that means, not send our troops to do work that cannot be solved militarily. It is time to bring our combat troops home. It is time to stop this endless war in Afghanistan.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Joe Biden:
Assassinations in Iran make America stand alone
I wouldn't have ordered the strike, there is no evidence yet of imminent threat that was going to come from him. I cannot think of a time when NATO has said to the United States and to Iran, made a moral equivalence and said, both of you stand down.
We are alone now, alone in that region of the world, without friends, without support, without allies. 64 of our heroes were wounded. They had traumatic brain injury. What did the president say? He said, ""Headaches, that's all they are."
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Joe Biden:
Only deal with terrorism in Afghanistan, not nation-building
And with regard Afghanistan, the only thing we should be doing is dealing with terrorism in that region. I've been in every part of Afghanistan. Here's what I saw, there is no possibility of uniting that country, no possibility at all of making it a
whole country. But it is possible to see to it that they're not able to launch more attacks from the region on the United States of America. That's a small footprint that we needed and I argued for that in the beginning.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Joe Biden:
I made a mistake; Bush said he wouldn't go into Iraq
I made a mistake and I said it 14 years ago. I trusted George Bush to keep his word. He said he was not going to go into Iraq. He said he was only using this to unite the United Nations to insist we get inspectors in to see what Saddam was doing.
When we got elected, the president turned to me with the entire security apparatus and said, "Joe, I want you to organize getting 156,000 troops out of Iraq." I did that. I did that.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Joe Biden:
I made a mistake; Bush said he wouldn't go into Iraq
I made a mistake and I said it 14 years ago. I trusted George Bush to keep his word. He said he was not going to go into Iraq. He said he was only using this to unite the United Nations to insist we get inspectors in to see what Saddam was doing.
When we got elected, the president turned to me with the entire security apparatus and said, "Joe, I want you to organize getting 156,000 troops out of Iraq." I did that. I did that.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Pete Buttigieg:
Taking out a bad guy is not always a good idea
It's also the case that if we learned nothing else from the war in Iraq, it's that taking president has moved us this much closer to the brink of war. This is not an episode of 24. This is a situation that requires that you evaluate the entire
intelligence picture. This president has insulted the intelligence community, but they put their lives on the line to gather the I don't think he even reads it.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Pete Buttigieg:
Biden made wrong decision on Iraq War
I believe that I have the judgment to help us get through these situations where obviously the vice president made the wrong
decision when it came to such an important moment in our foreign policy. It's not just about dealing with the aftermath of the war in Iraq, it's about preventing a war with Iran.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Pete Buttigieg:
Biden made wrong decision on Iraq War
I believe that I have the judgment to help us get through these situations where obviously the vice president made the wrong decision when it came to such an important moment in our foreign policy.
It's not just about dealing with the aftermath of the war in Iraq, it's about preventing a war with Iran.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Page last updated: Mar 23, 2020