Sanders Campaign Press Release - A Hawk or a Dove?

CONCORD, N.H. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' spokesman Michael Briggs issued the following statement Friday after a new television commercial released by Hillary Clinton's campaign claimed that she was responsible for "leading the diplomacy that keeps us out of war:"

"Secretary Clinton claims credit for what she calls the 'diplomacy that keeps us out of war.' But slick television ads can't hide her hawkish record.

"As a senator, she voted in 2002 for the war in Iraq, one of the worst foreign policy blunders in modern American history. As a House member, Sanders voted against the war and led opposition to the Bush-Cheney military fiasco.

"In 2008, then-Sen. Clinton scolded Barack Obama and called him 'naive' for his willingness to talk to the leaders of Iran. Bernie supported President Obama's recent agreement with Iran to keep Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons program.

"As a candidate for president, she called for stepped-up U.S. intervention in Syria with a no-fly zone enforced by the U.S. military. Sen. Sanders along with President Obama opposed the idea for fear of dragging the United States into perpetual war in the Middle East.

"With Sen. Sanders, putting a priority on diplomacy is part of his record, not just his rhetoric."