Clinton's Foreign Policy Attacks Are Naive and Dangerous

January 22, 2016

The Clinton campaign's latest broadside against Bernie Sanders will only remind Democrats what they don't like about her.

"Irresponsible and frankly naive." That's how then Sen. Hillary Clinton criticized the foreign policy approach of then Sen. Barack Obama in 2007. And we all know how that turned out.

If you're a politics watcher, you'd be forgiven for experiencing a bit of deja vu over the last 48 hours courtesy of the Clinton campaign. Just like she did during the 2008 primary cycle, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is characterizing her opponent's foreign policy positions – and particularly his stance toward Iran – as insufficiently thought-through, attempting to unmask him as a novice who is in over his head. It's not any likelier to work this time around.

For starters, Clinton is making a mountain out of a molehill when it comes to the actual daylight between her and Sen. Bernie Sanders – who, depending on which poll you look at, is either way ahead or within a couple of points of her in the race to win the Iowa caucuses – when it comes to Iran. She's seized on his comments during Sunday's Democratic debate, when Sanders said, "I think what we've got to do is move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran," to paint him as taking a dangerous stance toward the Islamic Republic.

A Clinton senior policy adviser took Sanders to task, saying, "This proposal to more aggressively normalize relations and to move to warm relations with Iran not only breaks with President Obama’s policy, it breaks with the sober and responsible diplomatic approach that’s been working for the United States." Another Clinton aide added, "I can safely predict that Republicans would love to have a debate with someone who thinks we should move quickly to warmer relations with a major sponsor of terrorism like Iran."

Back here in reality, the difference of opinion between Sanders and Clinton on this issue is slight, if it exists at all. During the debate, Sanders dinged both Iran's anti-American rhetoric and its support for terrorism, before plugging his support for the nuclear accord negotiated by the Obama administration. He added, "So if your question is, do I want to see that relationship become more positive in the future? Yes. Can I tell that we should open an embassy in Tehran tomorrow? No, I don't think we should."

in full: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/pat-garofalo/articles/2016-01-22/hillary-clintons-iran-attack-on-bernie-sanders-sounds-like-2008