Today’s foreign policy speech makes it clear – Bernie Sanders’ foreign policy plans are seriously lacking. He’s been criticized for not having a “coherent strategy” for dealing with Russia, Syria, Iran, and China, and his ISIS strategy has been described as “nonsensical and empty” and “wacky.” And if that wasn’t enough, Sanders has proved himself to be less than prepared to even discuss foreign policy issues.
But don’t take it from us. Just take a look at the reviews of his “wacky” plans.
Bernie Sanders’ foreign policy yet to be “coherent,” “impossible to parse”
- Foreign policy experts: Bernie Sanders has yet to turn his case for nonintervention and coalition-building into a coherent strategy for dealing with Russia, Syria, Iran, and China. “While Mr. Sanders has argued he is not an isolationist, foreign policy experts say he has yet to turn his case for nonintervention and coalition-building into a coherent strategy for containing Russia’s moves along its borders, bringing a cease-fire and political solution to Syria, enforcing the Iran nuclear deal, and handling cyberattacks from China and Russia. In fact, he has been largely silent on all those issues.” [New York Times, 2/8/16]
- Vox’s Amanda Taub: Bernie Sanders’s favorite and essentially only foreign policy position — putting “Muslim boots on the ground” — is “nonsensical and empty as a solution to ISIS, yet Sanders keeps bringing it up.” [Vox, 2/9/16]
- Vox’s Amanda Taub on Bernie Sanders’s foreign policy “doctrine,” as articulated by Sanders at a debate: “As substantive plans go, this one is almost impossible to parse.”[Vox, 2/9/16]
- Vox’s Amanda Taub characterized Bernie Sanders’s plan for the Middle East as “wacky.” [Vox, 2/9/16]
On Foreign Policy, Sanders Has No Real Answers
- Former national security officials: Bernie Sanders’s positions on Russia and China are superficial. “When asked about foreign policy challenges, he returns invariably to ISIS but presents no plan other than insisting that regional Muslims must lead the effort when they show no inclination of doing so. He advocates greater Iranian involvement though that would undermine our work to contain Iranian influence and alienate all the Sunni Arab powers he wants to bear the burden of the fight against extremism. His comments to date on Russia and China have been remarkably superficial, focusing on the notion that we can deal with them because they are integrated into the global system and therefore will respond to pressure. This is not a strategy but a bromide.” [Boston Globe, 2/27/16]
- When Bernie Sanders did wade into a pressing international topic — normalizing relations with Iran — he had to walk it back almost immediately. “When Mr. Sanders did wade recently into a pressing international topic — arguing that the United States should embrace Iran and move to full diplomatic relations — he had to walk it back almost immediately, saying he was talking about a long-term goal. Iran is still on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism; Mrs. Clinton and her staff seized on the statement to suggest that he was a rookie when it came to the nuances of dealing with authoritarian regimes.” [New York Times, 2/8/16]
- When asked about Afghanistan in a debate, Bernie Sanders talked about Syria and Iraq. “When NBC moderator Chuck Todd asked him how long US troops would be in Afghanistan, Sanders said, ‘Our great task is to make certain that our young men and women in the military do not get sucked into never-ending, perpetual warfare within the quagmire of Syria and Iraq.’” [Boston Globe, 2/5/16]
- When pressed on Afghanistan, Bernie Sanders had no answer except to say “we can’t withdraw tomorrow.” “That’s great, but what would you do about Afghanistan, Senator Sanders? He had no answer, except to say ‘we can’t withdraw tomorrow.’” [Boston Globe, 2/5/16]
- Boston Globe’s Michael Cohen: “When asked how he would rank the potential threat to US national security of Iran, Russia, and North Korea, Sanders started talking about ISIS, because that seems to be the one foreign policy answer he knows.” “When asked how he would rank the potential threat to US national security of Iran, Russia, and North Korea, Sanders started talking about ISIS, because that seems to be the one foreign policy answer he knows.” [Boston Globe, 2/5/16]
- Vox’s Max Fisher: Because Bernie Sanders does not have foreign policy staffers or advisers, “Sanders is developing neither policy ideas nor a substantive grasp of the issues, which he would need to be competitive in the general election and, more importantly, to function as president.” [Vox, 2/11/16]