During the primary, Sanders has explained his “nay” vote on the 2002 AUMF and his overall stance against regime change. Yet, he hasn’t always held these positions.
In 1998 Sanders voted for the Iraq Liberation Act which states, “It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.”
Three years later, in September 2001, Sanders voted for the 2001 Authorization Unilateral Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF). This authorization granted GW Bush the authority to use all "necessary and appropriate force" against those whom he determined "planned, authorized, committed or aided" the September 11th attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups.
This vote essentially gave GWBush the ability to invade any place on earth where he and Chaney suspected terrorists were hiding.
Sanders also supported the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during the War of Kosovo. His support of this action earned him the nickname, Bernie the Bomber, with his old friends at Liberty Union Party in Vermont that helped him get elected as Mayor of Burlington. Here are excerpts from a letter by Liberty Union party member, Will Miller:
Bernie the Bomber’s Bad Week
1999
by Will Miller
“In late April I was among the 25 Vermonters who occupied Congressman
Bernie Sanders’ Burlington office to protest his support of the NATO
bombing of Yugoslavia and the ongoing war against Iraq. Calling ourselves the “Instant Antiwar Action Group,” we decided to bring our outrage at Bernie’s escalating hypocrisy directly to his office, an action that resulted in 15 of us being arrested for trespass…
… Bernie became an imperialist to get elected in 1990. In August, 1990–after the Bush administration enticed Iraq into invading Kuwait–Sanders said he wasn’t “going to let some damn war cost him the election,” according to a staff member who was present at the time. So Sanders backed the buildup in the Persian Gulf and dumped on the left anti-imperialist peace movement, singling out his former allies like Dave Dellinger for public criticism….
… Sanders as the self-appointed moderator/boss opened the evening with naked self-justification. “It is a very complex situation…” followed by the ritual of demonization of Milosevic – a technique he has perfected over the last eight years on Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Then he presented the false dilemma that the only alternative to bombing is doing nothing. …”
Also in 1999, Jeremy Brecher, a policy analyst on the staff of U.S. Congressman Bernie Sanders, resigned in protest over Sanders’ support of NATO bombing Yugoslavia. Here are excerpts from the letter:
Dear Bernie,
This letter explains the matters of conscience that have led me to resign from your staff.
I believe that every individual must have some limit to what acts of military violence they are willing to participate in or support, regardless of either personal welfare or claims that it will lead to a greater good….
… It was your vote in support of this resolution that precipitated my decision that my conscience required me to resign from your staff.
I have tried to ask myself questions that I believe each of us must ask ourselves: Is there a moral limit to the military violence you are willing to participate in or support? Where does that limit lie? And when that limit has been reached, what action will you take? My answers led to my resignation.
Sincerely yours,
Jeremy Brecher
Other inconsistencies: 1994 Crime Bill & Wall Street Regulations.
From Mother Jones:
….When Sanders tried last week to explain his support for the 1994 [Crime] bill, he cited the bill's ban on assault weapons as part of his reason—except the initial House version that he voted for didn't include the assault weapons ban….
(Wall Street)
… Sanders voted for the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000, which eased regulations on Wall Street, thus paving the way for the credit default swaps that sank the economy in the Great Recession.