The many many ways Tulsi is better than Bernie on foreign policy

1. Tulsi : Called for troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan in Oct 2011 when mission to defeat Al Qaeda there was over.

“We achieved our original goal of entering Afghanistan. We’ve killed Bin Laden, decimated al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and given the Afghan people the opportunity to have a democratic country if they choose. It is now time for the Afghan people to take responsibility for their own country,” said Gabbard.

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/on-10th-anniversary-tulsi-gabbard-calls-for-end-to-war-in-afghanistan/

Bernie : In late 2015, agreed with Obama on extending war in Afghanistan to beyond 2016 because of Taliban (bad guys) - though Taliban posed no threat to US

"Well, yeah, I won't give you the exact number. Clearly, we do not want to see the Taliban gain more power, and I think we need a certain nucleus of American troops present in Afghanistan to try to provide the training and support the Afghan army needs," he said.

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/bernie-sanders-afghanistan_n_5623b601e4b08589ef47bdaa?ri18n=true

2. Tulsi : no regime change in Syria :

(Syria 2015 - stop arming rebels)

In 2015 : Today, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), both members of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced H.R. 4108, a bipartisan bill to end U.S. efforts to overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic led by President Bashar al-Assad.

Read more : https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/reps-tulsi-gabbard-austin-scott-introduce-legislation-end-illegal-us-war

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4108

Bernie : “We must be very careful about not making a complex and dangerous situation in Syria even worse,” Sanders said. “I support President Obama’s efforts to combat ISIS in Syria while at the same time supporting those in that country trying to remove the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad.”

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/10/07/sand-o07.html

In 2017, ""Assad has got to go."

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/16/politics/bernie-sanders-syria-strike-cnntv/index.html


3. Tulsi recognised US was arming terrorists in Syria and brough in legislation to stop arming terrorist groups anywhere.
Stop Arming Terrorists Act in Jan 2017-> https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/608?r=94

She also got into NDAA 2020 (defense budget) and it passed :

While the final language in the legislation was very different than what passed out of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was able to secure several provisions in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including:

Preventing funds from being used to knowingly supply weapons or any other form of support to Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and associated groups in section Section 1228 of the bill

https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-opposes-defense-bill-worsens-new-cold-war-and-nuclear-arms

Bernie : Refused to understand or acknowledge that US armed terrorists in Syria.
Did not co-sponsor the Senate version of Stop Arming terorrists Act (introduced by Rand Paul)

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/532/cosponsors

4. Tulsi is the only candidate (among Democrats and Republicans) to condemn Israeli annexation of Golan heights

Tulsi : "Another example of Trump and Netanyahu putting their own political interests ahead of the interests of our respective countries. Will escalate tensions and likelihood of war between Israel/US/Syria/Iran/Russia. Shortsighted."

in response to :

Breaking News: President Trump said that the U.S. should recognize Israel’s authority over the Golan Heights, in a major shift of decades-long American policy

from NY Times:

https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1108822872779300864

Bernie has not spoken about it.

5. Tulsi is the only candidate (among Democrats and Republicans) to point out and condemn Netanyahu's role in edging US towards war with Iran.

"Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia want to drag the United States into war with Iran, and Trump is submitting to their wishes. The cost in money and lives will be catastrophic."

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1115604524641599490

6. Tulsi spoke out in Feb 2019, when a Pakistan based terrorist group (Jaish-e-Mohammed) orchestrated a bombing in Kashmir(India) that killed 40+ soldiers.

https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1096155570409750530

Bernie did not speak out on the terrorist attack in Kashmir (he did speak on the Christchurch shooting and SL bombings).

7. More importantly, Tulsi spoke out when significant warring tensions arose between two 2 nuclear armed countries in India and Pakistan after that.

"To our friends in India & Pakistan: As nuclear powers, please remember it’s your responsibility to the global community to settle differences thru negotiations—not war. In times like this, cool heads must prevail. The world is praying you will have the courage to work for peace"

https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1100949081671708672

Bernie did not speak out when significant warring tensions arose b/w India and Pakistan. Why ? Because India could not be blamed, Pakistan was – because this was due to Pak based terrorist group.


8. Tulsi spoke out accurately about why Article 370 should have been removed, the security situation in Kashmir that led to restrictions; also mentioned that civil/human rights violations should also be looked at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wAMG4sOLuQ

Bernie OTOH did not show he had a clue about Article 370, did not acknowledge security issues that led to restrictions, was just grandstanding about human rights, also spread fake news about medical supplies not being there. He also called for UN interference in an India internal matter. Basically pro-Pakistan, anti-India BS propaganda.

https://twitter.com/People4Bernie/status/1167962517630357504

 J&K authorities rubbish reports of drug shortage in Kashmir, claims valley has ample stock. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/jk-drug-shortage-authorities-rubbish-reports-1591342-2019-08-25

Because of the situation in Kashmir, they usually have a 3 month supply of drugs.
-----

No comment on terrorist attack in India and big warring tensions b/w India&Pakistan earlier in 2019.And we're supposed to believe he cares about fate of Jammu&Kashmir when restrictions are imposed ? No, he is just repeating anti-India, pro-Pakistan (pro-ISI) propaganda.

9. Delhi riots :

Riots in which many Hindus and Muslims were killed and injured. Not state sponsored by any means.

Tulsi pointed out an instance of Hinduphobia where Hindus in US were being blamed for the riots as if it were a pogrom (also like the Hindus in US had anything to do with the riots)

https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1235633239936638983

Bernie OTOH called it anti-Muslim violence whitewashing/ignoring the Hindus affected

"Over 200 million Muslims call India home. Widespread anti-Muslim mob violence has killed at least 27 and injured many more. Trump responds by saying, "That's up to India." This is a failure of leadership on human rights."

https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/1232763321163579395?lang=en


10. Tulsi did not answer this questionnaire, but one can bet that she would not consider military force to pre-empt an Iranian or North Korean nuclear or missile test

Question and answer to Bernie ...just for a test ->
Question: Would you consider military force to pre-empt an Iranian or North Korean nuclear or missile test?

Answer: Yes.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/14/sand-f14.html


11. On Russia, he (Bernie) entirely supports the Democratic Party’s McCarthyite anti-Russia campaign and lines up behind the right-wing basis of the Democrats’ failed impeachment drive against Trump:

Q: If Russia continues on its current course in Ukraine and other former Soviet states, should the United States regard it as an adversary, or even an enemy?

Answer: Yes.

Q: Should Russia be required to return Crimea to Ukraine before it is allowed back into the G-7?

Answer: Yes.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/14/sand-f14.html

Tulsi does not support the McCarthyite BS. Has said that US needs to work with Russia for common good, while resolving the differences in a diplomatic manner as far as possible.

Interviewer (a veteran) : You don't think Putin is a good guy ? Tulsi : No (in a duh way) Explains why she won't call Putin an enemy. Most important part : Says there issues where US/Russia are adversaries, but US also has to work with Russia to de-escalate tensions to work in the common interests of American/Russian people and the world. Also talks about her Securing America's elections Act to ensure paper record of votes to protect against interference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhbxyHomKes

12. Tulsi has acknowledged Russian interference in 2016 election (which did not have a significant impact tbh) but has also questioned interference by other countries (some of which she said have had a more significant impact) – China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkigREtfAT0

Bernie only focused on Russian interference, sanctioning them and moving towards a new cold war with Russia. Also made out Russian interference to be a big factor in 2016 elections to push this narrative. He did this in 2018 as well defending Hillary along the way.

"As someone who campaigned hard for Hillary Clinton from one end of this country to another, it is an outrage that she had to run against not only Donald Trump but also the Russian government."

https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/966457373111005184

13. Sanctions on Russia for action/inaction wrt to Syria ?

One would have to be delusional to believe Tulsi would make such a statement punishing one sovereign country for “action” of another

Bernie told Chuck Todd that sanctions should be used to pressure Russia to the table regarding Syria, if they did not agree by themselves.

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/sanders-make-them-an-offer-they-can-t-refuse-917300291668

Wait. Syria is a sovereign country. Russia is a sovereign country. So even in the case Russia refused to come to the negotiating table regarding Syria, why on earth should one attempt to sanction Russia for it ?

14. Tulsi :
"The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela. Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don't want other countries to choose our leaders--so we have to stop trying to choose theirs."

https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1088531713649713153?lang=en

Bernie :

"The Maduro government has waged a violent crackdown on Venezuelan civil society, violated the constitution by dissolving the National Assembly and was re-elected last year in an election many observers said was fraudulent. The economy is a disaster and millions are migrating. 1/3 The United States should support the rule of law, fair elections and self-determination for the Venezuelan people. We must condemn the use of violence against unarmed protesters and the suppression of dissent. 2/3But we must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime change or supporting coups—as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil & the DR. The US has a long history of inappropriately intervening in Latin American nations; we must not go down that road again. 3/3"

https://twitter.com/sensanders/status/1088573769243914240

Repeated lot of propaganda. Only stopped short of calling for Guiado to replace Maduro.

"The people of Venezuela are enduring a serious humanitarian crisis. The Maduro government must put the needs of its people first, allow humanitarian aid into the country, and refrain from violence against protesters."

https://twitter.com/sensanders/status/1099380342018912257

not acknowledging the signifcant role of US sanctions in the Venezuelan problems. Instead to choosing to blame Maduro and force them to accept "humanitarian" aid aka intervention (in real terms)

15. Tulsi said people of Hong Kong need to determine their own future/form of government/relationship with China. US should not be interfereing as it tends to make things worse (as history has shown). US should instead focus on strengthening its own democracy if it wants to be a beacon of democracy around the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLflSI6NKVY


Bernie in response to NY Times :

Should respect for Hong Kong’s political independence, under the terms of the handover agreement with Britain, be a prerequisite for normal relations and trade with China?
Sanders's Answer
Yes.

Comment : How the f*** is that your business ?

Should normal relations and trade be contingent on China’s closing its internment camps for Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups?
Sanders's Answer
Yes.

Comment : more interventionist humanitarian threatening BS.

http://archive.is/PqkUa

About Uighurs. There is a small section of Uighurs in China who are radicals or have been radicalised. China has created deradicalisation camps for them. Now China admin isn't great at human rights, nowhere near , but this is a horrible& tricky problem to solve. Number of people in those camps have been vastly exaggerated.

https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/

16. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) says one of her first acts as president would be to “stop pretending” that Saudi Arabia is an ally of the U.S.

“You can go down a laundry list of things that show that even as much as the policy establishment claims Saudi Arabia is an ally of the United States and they’re battling terrorism and all of these things — they’re simply not true,” Gabbard told Hill.TV in an interview that aired on Friday.

Also said in the interview that Saudi is protecting Al Qaeda.

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/450868-gabbard-on-saudi-arabia-us-needs-to-stop-pretending-saudi-arabia-is-an-ally

"Opening counter-terrorism center in Saudi is a farce; Saudi is #1 exporter of Wahhabi Salafi jihadist ideology that fuels grps like ISIS/AQ"

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/866344079612837889

17. Tulsi was critical of many of Obama's foreign policy moves :
Arming moderate rebels in Syria (Link given above)
Selling arms to Saudi while Saudi while Saudi was bombing civilian facilities in Yemen
Obama not doing enough to fight AQ+ISIS

etc.

"A $1.5 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia while they drop bombs on civilian facilities in Yemen is ridiculous."
https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/780935072115326976

"I was among 64 bipartisan lawmakers asking that a $1.15 billion US arms sale to Saudi Arabia be delayed.
http://defensenews.com/articles/sixty-us-lawmakers-want-to-freeze-115-billion-arms-sale-to-saudi-arabia"

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/775773795873230848

Well, we know that the Obama greenlighted the CIA mission, Operation Timber Sycamore, that resulted in arming Al Qaeda+affiliates against Assad instead of actually combating Al Qaeda+affiliates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_Sycamore

Its why Tulsi introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act : https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/608

(a previous version was this : https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6504)

Bernie mostly went along with Obama's foreign policy - be it intervention in Libya, extending presence in Afghanistan to fight Taliban (which did not threaten US), arming moderate rebels in Syria etc.

Without being asked about it, he called Obama's foreign policy impressive :

At the beginning of an interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation” between John Dickerson and the Vermont senator, Dickerson noted:

“Senator, while you were in New York, North Koreans launched a long range missile. As President, you’d face that kind of thing all the time, very often. And what Secretary Clinton is saying is that you don’t have the experience to be ready for those kinds of challenges on day one.”

Sanders responded:

“Well, that’s what she said about Barack Obama in 2008, and it turned out not to be true. I am impressed by the quality of his foreign policy.”

https://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-mr-bernie-endorses-baracks-violent-foreign-policy-criticizes-hillarys-militarism-sanders-impressed-by-the-quality-of-obamas-violent-empire-bui/213625/

18. Ending Nuclear arms race :

Tulsi has focused a lot on ending the nuclear arms race. Sounded the warning again Doomsday clock was set to 100s before midnight – closest it has ever been.

Look at the many tweets she has put about ending the nuclear arms race.

https://twitter.com/search?q=arms%20race%20(from%3Atulsigabbard)&src=typed_query

"We talk about “existential threats,” but nothing is more threatening to our world than nuclear war. In the first week of my presidency, I will call for a summit with Russia and China to end the nuclear arms race and agree on steps to move the world back from the nuclear abyss."

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1206922995408748544


"#DoomsdayClock - It’s time to move back from the abyss. It’s time to end the new cold war and nuclear arms race before it’s too late."

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1220462538959122432

The event that shook Tulsi and made her enter the Presidential race for 2020 was the false missile alert alarm in Hawaii in 2018.

Bernie has rarely spoken about ending the nuclear arms race and did not speak about Doomsday clock in this cycle.

This was his only tweet from his 2 accounts combined in this 2020 cycle about arms race. Only spoke about it in campaign trail couple of times IIRC.

https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1091419874897940481


19. Tulsi recognized the impact general economic sanctions have on the people during the trip to Syria in early 2017 and has been against them since. Called them form of economic warfare.

"As president, I will end these regime change wars by doing two things: ending the draconian sanctions that are really a modern-day siege, the likes of which we are seeing Saudi Arabia wage against Yemen that have caused tens of thousands Syrian civilians to die and to starve, and make sure we stop supporting terrorists like Al Qaeda in Syria, who have been the ground force in this ongoing regime change war."

http://archive.is/uhrDn

Bernie introduced a resolution to ensure sanctions were applied on Russia in mid-2018.

Sanders’ resolution states that the U.S. Senate:

Demands that the sanctions against Russia that were passed last year be fully implemented by the president;

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/sanders-introduces-resolution-to-protect-american-democracy-from-russian-meddling

Has not said at any time that general economic sanctions are a form of economic warfare or hybrid warfare or something similar.

20. Tulsi introduced "No More Presidential Wars Act" which would make it impeachable for President to declare war without Congressional authorization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Presidential_Wars_Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/411/text?format=txt

She also got it into NDAA 2020, but it was removed at the last minute.

She also reintroduced the No More Presidential Wars resolution which would prohibit the President from starting a war without Congressional authorization.
It defines Presidential wars not declared by Congress under Article I, section 8, clause 11 (Declare War Clause) as impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-stop-trump-starting-war-iran-no-more-presidential-wars

Bernie has not supported this or any such similar legislation

21. Tackling terrorism :
Tulsi : 

A multi-fold, well thought out plan towards tackling terrorism : 1. Stop Arming Terrorists Act 2. No more regime change wars (they lead to fueling terrorism). 3. Not having Saudi as an ally. 4. Encouraging inclusivism and respect to combat exclusivist ideologies that lead to terrorism 5. Military action where required (including limited use of drones where there is high risk to military personnel)

Links to Stop Arming terrorists act and No more presidential wars act (for no more regime change), not having Saudi as an ally are already mentioned above.

About defeating terrorism ideologically :

"Such acts of terror are also an admission of insecurity and doubt.  Those who are confident in their own faith have no reason to attack the faith of others.  It is only those who are fearful and devoid of love for God who believe that forcing their view on the rest of the world could ever be the will of God.

Groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram all share this divisive ideology in common, and it is also at the heart of the Wahhabi Salafist ideology sponsored and propagated by countries like Saudi Arabia.  This exclusivist ideology is the opposite of real religion because it denies the inherent freedom of every individual to choose whether and how they want to love God or not, and it is the enemy of peace for all of humanity.

Therefore, in order to defeat this enemy, we not only need to defeat these terrorist groups militarily, we need to defeat them ideologically.  Otherwise, those terrorists we kill on the battlefield will simply be replaced by others who have been indoctrinated into a perverse and violent understanding of religion.


How do we defeat this exclusivist ideology?  We must confront this exclusivist, hateful ideology head-to-head, and defeat it with an inclusive ideology of love—a consciousness of love. Inclusiveness is born out of wisdom and love, knowing that every single person is a child of God, and we should love others as our brethren.  We should appreciate and respect that every individual has the right to choose the spiritual path that they want."

...........

https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-calls-peace-unity-religious-freedom-rutgers-muslims-4-peace


Military action :

Asked if she still favors a small footprint approach with limited use of weaponized drones against groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda, Gabbard said, “With these terror cells, for example, yes, I still believe that the right approach to take is these quick-strike forces, surgical strikes in and out, very quickly, no long-term deployment, no long-term occupation, to get rid of the threat that exists and then get out and the very limited use of drones in those situations where our military is not able to get in without creating an unacceptable level of risk.”

https://theintercept.com/2018/01/20/tulsi-gabbard-syria-isis-al-qaeda/

Bernie :

Did not support stop arming terrorists act, is an interventionist (has supported multiple regime changes). Supports limited use of drones. Passive support for ISI agenda (which supports terrorists) in Pakistan-India affairs by demonizing Modi govt with BS propaganda.

Links for the Pakistan-India stuff is already mentioned above as are interventions in Libya, Syria etc.
Support for drone use where required : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/11/bernie-sanders-drones-counter-terror
This is from 2015, but there has been no other statement from him in this regard. So we can assume his position remains the same.

22. Tulsi :

"Too many politicians think the only way the US can be “engaged” with other countries is by blowing them up and strangling them with economic sanctions. I will end long-standing regime change policy & lead with a foreign policy based on negotiations, diplomacy, & cooperation."

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1144654935453249537

This plus the other examples showcase her foreign policy is about diplomacy+respect for sovereignty of other countries (be it Afghanistan or Syria or Venezuela or Hong Kong or Russia)

Bernie :

That's why, together with his secretary of state, Bernie's administration will implement a foreign policy which focuses on democracy, human rights, environmental justice and economic fairness.

http://archive.is/PqkUa

You don't have the right to push "democracy" on other nations.

This plus his history of supporting regime change/humanitarian interference in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela etc. showcase his foreign policy of humanitarian interference and scant respect for sovreignty of other nations.