Bernie Sanders talked at length (around 10 minutes) yesterday to Chris Hayes on All In about his views on foreign policy. Hayes, to his credit, gave him more than “12 seconds” to address the issue.
Here are some of the main points Sanders covered, but this is a small part of the entire content.
With regard to the Middle East:
"We must focus on building coalitions."
"ISIS must be destroyed, but it should be destroyed by a coalition of Muslim nations on the ground."
"I spent many months on a kibbutz in Israel, so I know something about Israel."
"Israel has a right to exist but you cannot ignore the needs of the Palestinian people."
"I am more than aware of what Iran is doing in support of terrorism. But I am also aware that the government of Saudi Arabia is no great model of Jeffersonian democracy, that money from Saudi Arabia has gone into terrorist extremists."
"We've got to play ... with a much more evenhanded approach."
"The agreement that the Obama Administration reached in stopping the development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is a step forward. I want to see that continued."
"I want to see pressure being put on Saudi Arabia not only to stop funding terrorists, but instead of being in Yemen to play a more active role against ISIS."
"We are all aware of the centuries-old division between Shiites and Sunnis. But ... they are going to have to sit at the table. We can play a role in trying to resolve some of those differences so they can work with us against ISIS and terrorism in general."
"Clearly, the Middle East has been a caldron. It has been so volatile, so horrible, in so many years that it's an area you've got to pay attention to. But you've got to pay attention to China, you have to pay attention to Latin America. Being Jewish what has been most significant in my life is understanding what a Hitler, what horrible politics can mean to people. And I think that's been one of the motivating factors in my life in fighting against racism and bigotry of all kinds. Because, when it gets out of hand, as we have seen ... it obviously has unbelievable repercussions."
He also addressed relations with Cuba and other issues.
Asked if there was a question he wished the media would pose to him, Sanders said the issue is far greater than one question:
"For the media, 90% of the coverage is process, is soap opera, is polls, is raising money. ... Listen to the people.” [Cites examples.]
"I'm running for President because we have a disappearing middle class [and] 47 million people living in poverty. The amount of time the media pays to these issues is minimal. That is my critique, Chris, is that the media has got to look at the pain in America today and then look at how the candidates are responding to that pain. Campaigns and elections are not a game. They're not a game. They are about trying to change America. We're the wealthiest country in the history of the world. We should not be having Flint Michigans or African-American communities all over this country where schools are failing. Those are the issues we've got to pay attention to and not look at this as some kind of silly game."
You should view the entire segment here. It’s well worth watching.
I have to run off to work. I’ll check back later for comments.