"I Was Wrong": Bernie Sanders Admits Barbara Lee Only Member of Congress in 2001 Who Had it Right on Afghan War by Jon Queally!
(2019-12-21 at 12:58:31 )

"I Was Wrong": Bernie Sanders Admits Barbara Lee Only Member of Congress in 2001 Who Had it Right on Afghan War by Jon Queally

"Politicians never ever ever say that. Ever."

In 2001, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) was the only member of the United States House of Representatives to rise in opposition to the rushed decision to invade Afghanistan following the attacks of September 11.

During the Democratic presidential debate Thursday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders admitted his 2001 vote as a member of the United States House of Representatives to authorize the invasion of Afghanistan was a mistake-and credited Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California for being the only lawmaker in Congress to get that decision right at the time.

The moment came after moderators cited recent reporting on the "Afghanistan Papers" by the Washington Post who published an expose last week based on internal government documents that showed the United States government knowingly misled the American people about the wars progress.

Mr. Sanders rival, former vice president Joe Biden, was asked about his time in Barack Obamas White House and subsequently Mr. Sanders was asked to defend his initial vote to authorize the war when he was still serving in the United States House.

"Well, only one person, my good friend, Barbara Lee, was right on that issue," responded Mr. Sanders. "She was the only person in the House to vote against the war in Afghanistan. She was right. I was wrong. So was everybody else in the House."

Mr. Sanders was elected to the United States Senate in 2002, where he ended up voting against President George W. Bushs push to invade Iraq while Mr. Biden pushed for the authorization and voted in favor of it. Watch the exchanges:

Anti-war advocates applauded Mr. Sanders for admitting his mistake on Afghanistan, with the Quaker-led Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) saying the comment was a display of both "bravery and wisdom":

Stephen Miles, executive director for Win Without War, also gave kudos to Mr. Sanders for his shout out to Ms Lee and "pointing out that she was right in 2001 and every single other member of Congress got it wrong."

For other observers, the honesty of the admission was noted as a political rarity:

Bernie Sanders re continued ground presence of troops in Afghanistan: "I was wrong"

Politicians never ever ever say that. Ever. This guy is a f-cking gem.-Aisha Ahmad December 20, 2019

While Mr. Sanders acknowledged what believes was a mistake and reiterated his call to end the nations "endless wars" by bringing the United States soldiers home, Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana who is also a veteran of the United States occupation of Afghanistan, subsequently stated his position that the United States had "no choice" but to invade the country in 2001.

Reprinted here from "Common Dreams" has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100% reader supported.