Afghanistan (support for going in/comments on withdrawal) Opposed a quick withdrawal of NATO troops. [CBS News, 4/14/11] Supported the withdrawal as Vice President. [Guardian, 5/26/12] Supported the withdrawal. [Charlie Rose, 9/4/12] Supported quick and total withdrawal from Afghanistan. [Hardball, MSNBC, 6/4/14] Did not have an issue with announcing a withdrawal date from Afghanistan. [Hardball, MSNBC, 6/4/14] Warned against U.S. involvement in Afghanistan before invasion. [New York Times, 5/1/15] Supported withdrawal from Afghanistan. [WPRI, YouTube, 4/20/12] 2009 Afghanistan surge Supported the surge. [TIME, 1/14/14] Opposed the surge. [Yahoo, 6/25/12] Supported the surge. [Charlie Rose, 9/4/12] Opposed the surge. [Jim Webb, Washington Post, 12/4/09] Appeared to oppose the surge. [Office of Senator Sanders, 12/1/09] Fight against ISIL Supported Obama’s ISIL strategy. [CBS News, 9/25/14] Supported as Vice President. Defended progress against ISIL under Obama. [New York Times, 4/10/15] Supported ISIL coalition. [Salon, 3/13/15] Supported a military “policy” against ISIS, but says we are “reaping the consequence” of Iraq occupation. [PBS Newshour, 2/26/15] Wanted fight against ISIL to be led by Saudi Arabia and neighbors. [New York Times, 5/1/15] Said rise of ISIS was a result of the Iraq invasion. [New Day, CNN, 4/16/15] 2014: Appeared not to support air strikes against ISIS. [Crossfire, CNN, 6/18/14] Libya intervention Spearheaded the U.S. decision to intervene in Libya. [New York Times, 3/18/11] Appeared skeptical of the decision to intervene in Libya. [Rolling Stone, 10/13/11] Appeared not to support U.S intervention to remove Gadhafi. [Salon, 3/13/15] Opposed unilateral intervention in Libya, specifically citing lack of Congressional approval. [Vox, 3/9/15] Said he had reservations about intervention in Libya. [Real Clear Politics, 6/8/11] Opposed the intervention in Libya. [WPRI, 4/14/11] Benghazi Defended the Administration in 2012 campaign, saying Congress cut diplomatic security funding. [Guardian, 10/12/12] Defended President’s characterization of Benghazi during 2012 campaign. [Starting Point, CNN, 10/17/12] Implied that Benghazi was a result of the misguided intervention of Libya. [State of the Union, CNN, 6/1/14] Called the Benghazi attacks a tragedy and criticized Republicans for politicizing it. [Office of Senator Sanders, 5/16/13] Putin Said she was among the most skeptical of Putin. [Politico, 7/26/14] Urged Europe to be more aggressive in confronting Putin. [CNN, 2/13/15] Forcefully denounced Russian aggression in Ukraine, calling on Russia to leave. [CNN, 2/7/15] Apparently said to Putin “I don’t think you have a soul.” [Salon, 7/21/14] Supported the Obama Administration’s approach to Ukraine. [National Press Club, 9/23/14] Supported approaching Putin’s aggression through sanctions and working with European partners. Supports sanctions against Russia over Ukraine policies. [New York Times, 5/1/15] Supported the idea of a Russia “reset” but said it was blundered. [New Day, CNN, 4/16/15]
2016 Democrats Position Cheat Sheet FINAL Page 9 Page 11