Bernie Sanders Blasts Saudis For Demanding U.S. Troops On The Ground To Fight ISIS

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) quickly smacked down the Saudi government’s demand that the U.S. send ground troops to fight ISIS.

Yesterday, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, demanded the United States lead a coalition of boots on the ground to fight ISIS.

In a statement, Sen. Sanders issued a blistering response:

I find it remarkable that Saudi Arabia, which borders Iraq and is controlled by a multi-billion dollar family, is demanding that U.S. combat troops have ‘boots on the ground’ against ISIS. Where are the Saudi troops? With the third largest military budget in the world and an army far larger than ISIS, the Saudi government must accept its full responsibility for stability in their own region of the world. Ultimately, this is a profound struggle for the soul of Islam, and the anti-ISIS Muslim nations must lead that fight. While the United States and other western nations should be supportive, the Muslim nations must lead.

Sen. Sanders was right. One of the biggest lessons from George W. Bush’s follies in Iraq was that outsiders can’t remake the Middle East. As President Obama has repeatedly stated, the nations of the region have to lead in this fight. That doesn’t mean that the United States will have no role. It means that those who are on the ground fighting and dying should be from the region.

The United States is not going to fight the Saudis battles for them. The days of the Bush cowboy diplomacy are long gone. At some point the leaders of the region must take responsibility for their own problems. There is no good reason for American men and women to fight and die in a war with ISIS.

As Sen. Sanders pointed out, the Saudis have more than enough military capacity to take on ISIS if they wanted to. There will be no invasion of U.S. combat troops on the ground for as long as Barack Obama is president. The American people are tired of war, and the statement by the Saudi foreign minister was insulting to all of the Americans who risked and/or lost their lives fighting in the Middle East.

If the Saudis want a ground war, they should be the ones who lead the fight against ISIS.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association