Bernie Sanders Snubs AIPAC Over ‘Providing a Platform for Bigotry,’ Pro-Israel Lobby Group Denounces His ‘Odious Attack’
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, riding high from his string of presidential primary successes, took a strong on the pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC, on Sunday.
His Twitter posts criticizing the group came as part of a highly contentious day, which included him telling Anderson Cooper on a 60 Minutes broadcast that he would “absolutely” militarily intervene if China invaded Taiwan while drawing the ire of Florida’s Cuban-American population for praising Fidel Castro in the same interview. Sanders, who is Jewish, has never AIPAC’s annual conference, and he publicly announced his intent to keep that streak alive, while accusing the group of providing a platform “for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.”
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1231709010430189570
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1231709011688480768
https://twitter.com/AIPAC/status/1231753656044806144
Bernie Sanders Tells Anderson Cooper That, as President, He Would ‘Absolutely’ Intervene Militarily If China Invaded Taiwan
https://content.jwplatform.com/players/moc0Ru3p-zffGtjRq.html
Cooper noted that Sanders had criticized President Donald Trump as likely to “get us into an unnecessary war,” and asked the senator if he believed there were situations where American military intervention was necessary.
“Absolutely, of course I do,” replied Sanders, adding that such action would “hopefully be as rare as possible,” but that “we have the best military in the world.”
Cooper then asked Sanders what his criteria would be for sending in the military.
“Threats against the American people, to be sure. Threats against our allies,” said Sanders. “I believe in NATO. I believe that the United States, everything being equal, should be working with other countries in alliance, not doing it alone.”
Specifically asked about the possibility of China took military action against Taiwan, Sanders again replied affirmatively that as president, he would authorize military intervention.
“That’s something, yeah,” said Sanders. “I think we have got to make it clear to countries around the world that we will not sit by and allow invasions to take place, absolutely.”
American support for Taiwan has been a source for tensions with China for decades, with the United States’ official position long established as preserving the status quo and opposing China using any military force against Taiwan.
The U.S. has also sold billions of dollars worth of arms to Taiwan since the late 1970s. The Trump administration approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jets last year, and before that, President Barack Obama ‘s administration announced multiple arms deals with Taiwan during his two terms. China has always strongly objected to these sales, threatening a variety of military and economic sanctions over the years.
“Would you meet with Kim Jong-un?” asked Cooper.
“Yeah,” replied Sanders, noting that he had criticized Trump for “everything under the sun,” but while the meeting itself was “not a bad thing to do,” Trump “went into that meeting unprepared.”
“I think it was a photo opportunity and did not have the kind of the diplomatic work necessary to make it a success. But I do not have a problem with sitting down with adversaries all over the world.”
