MUST READ: Sanders is Right: Iraq is Important

Compounding this tragedy are the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who were killed in the war and the civil conflict that followed. By dismantling Iraqi institutions and attempting to create from whole cloth a sect-based Iraqi government, the Bush Administration stoked latent sectarian tensions that resulted in campaigns of ethnic cleansing and a dysfunctional political order.

Instead of defeating terrorism, the war served to aggravate it, with al Qaeda and its successor ISIS spreading to at least 16 countries. At the same time, the war and our behaviors exhibited in the war (Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo) led to a precipitous decline in respect of and support for America across the globe--putting our country at even greater risk.

One final "unintended consequence" of the war was not only the growth of extremist currents in the Arab world but the unleashing of an emboldened Iran on the region. With Saddam and the Taliban defeated, Iran was able to expand its influence in Iraq and project its claim to be the leader of the "resistance against the West".

As Bernie Sanders correctly notes, it wasn't just the Bush Administration that supported this disastrous war. The Democratic-led Senate passed the resolution that was used to justify the invasion. And so, dear critics and cynics, before suggesting that Sanders lacks the wisdom to conduct foreign policy, pay attention to the judgment and foresight he demonstrated in what he has rightly termed the most critical decision Senators were called on to make in this century.

In bringing up his opposition to the war, he is not only distinguishing himself from Hillary Clinton, who supported the invasion, he is also correctly laying the predicate for a more thoughtful realist-based foreign policy grounded in respect for international law and institutions, cooperation with partners, and diplomatic engagement.

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http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/9223272