Vermont Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said he would not apologize for his position opposing war with Iran, The Hill reports. In a video that he shared on Twitter , Sanders doubled down on his personal history of opposing conflicts abroad, including clips of the senator speaking out as such in various instances.
In tweets accompanying the video, Sanders provides a couple of examples.
“I was right about Vietnam. I was right about Iraq. I will do everything in my power to prevent a war with Iran,” he wrote. “I apologize to no one.”
The remarks come following recent criticism of Sanders for his stance on Iran, particularly as it becomes apparent that at least some senior members of the Trump administration are advocating for military action in the country.
Tensions are currently high between Iran and the United States, as the State Department began pulling U.S. personnel from Iraq as the Pentagon touted a proposed plan to deploy 120,000 troops to the region immediately outside of Iran. President Donald Trump has so far dismissed that approach.
In an appearance on Meet the Press , Sanders was asked about his opposition to the Vietnam War in particular, after which the show’s Twitter account recounted his position, saying that Sanders “won’t apologize” for opposing the conflicts in both Vietnam and Iraq.
Twitter users quickly expressed chagrin for how the position was framed, generally questioning why Meet the Press would imply that Sanders should apologize for stances which most agree have been historically vindicated.
In any case, Sanders himself ultimately spoke with clarity on his record and his stance on Iran with the video.
“Recently I’ve been criticized a bit because of my opposition to war,” he says. “So let me be very clear: I make no apologies to anybody that when I was a young man, before I was elected to anything, I opposed the war in Vietnam. And I know what that war did to my generation.”
Sanders goes on to describe the war in Iraq as “a disaster” and to predict that a similar turn of events in Iran could in fact be even worse.
Bernie Sanders refuses to apologize for opposing war with Iran https://t.co/ysMPc1eDxA pic.twitter.com/mVwzv0Vj4q
— The Hill (@thehill) May 24, 2019
Sanders and his views on foreign policy are facing particular scrutiny as he sits in a crowded field of more than 20 contenders for the Democratic nomination for 2020. Most polls place Sanders in second place behind former Vice President Joe Biden when it comes to voters in critical early primary states.
