WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement tonight after President Barack Obama delivered a nationally televised address on the Islamic State terrorist group:
“ISIS is a brutal and dangerous organization that must be defeated. I agree with the president that ISIS is a threat to the international community and must be combatted by the international community, not just the United States. Most importantly, this struggle will not be won without the active participation of the people of Iraq and Syria. This cannot be a unilateral American action. As we develop a long-term strategy, we must not forget the painful lessons learned by the Bush-Cheney wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. ground troops should not be sent back into combat. I support the president’s airstrike campaign and help for the Syrian opposition.”
Contact: Michael Briggs (202) 224-5141
another war
From what I’ve read, they are no threat to the US.
It seems clear that those “painful lessons” have been forgotten entirely, or are being ignored intentionally.
This cannot be a unilateral American action
The Saudis, Israelis, Emiratis and Turks all have large and well-equipped air forces, and pilots well-trained by Uncle Sam.
And, they are all, ALL, far more threatened by ISIS than we are.
No solution to the ISIS problem will succeed without their participation.
They need to be in the van of any action.
War is not the answer
Beheadings are abominable. However, is the decapitee any deader than the wedding guest taken out by one of our drones?
Look! There is no military solution! Repeat: There is NO military solution!
All that airstrikes, boots on the ground, attacks, counterattacks and counter-counterattacks will accomplish is death, destruction, destroyed resources, major expense and serious blowback.
(and maybe a little more oil for the oligarchs).
Only diplomacy on a scale not seen since Talleyrand will bring peace to the middle-east.
But peace is bad for business
We need to do something different this time