Joe Biden’s inconsistent view on the Iraq War was on full display at the Democratic debate

AP Photo/Paul Vernon

Former Vice President Joe Biden was grilled during the second night of the first 2020 Democratic debate, and it revealed some of his inconsistent views about a controversial war-time policy.
In 2002, then-Delaware senator Biden voted for the Iraq War and the 2002 Iraq-version of the Authorization for the Use of Military Force that gave the president unilateral power to "defend US national security against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."
"Once [Bush] abused that power, what happened was, we got elected after that," Biden said, in an apparent reference to former President George W. Bush’s decision to quickly invade Iraq using the AUMF. "I made sure, [President Obama] turned to me and said ‘Joe, get our combat troops out of Iraq.’"
Biden’s opponents on the debate stage took advantage of his inconsistent views, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
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Former Vice President Joe Biden was grilled during the 2nd night of the first Democratic debate and revealed some of his inconsistent views about a controversial war-time policy.

In 2002, then-Delaware senator Biden voted for the Iraq War and a version of the Authorization for the Use of Military Force that gave the president unilateral power to "defend US national security against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."

As senator, Biden would later characterize his decision as a "mistake" and said it was wrong "to assume the president would use the authority we gave him properly."

"We gave the president the authority to unite the world to isolate [Saddam Hussein]," Biden said during an NBC interview in 2005. "And the fact of the matter is, we went too soon. We went without sufficient force. And we went without a plan."

As a 2020 Democratic candidate, he took the national spotlight on the debate stage in Miami on Thursday, only to deflect about his vote.

"Once [Bush] abused that power, what happened was, we got elected after that," Biden said, in an apparent reference to former President George W. Bush’s decision to quickly invade Iraq. "I made sure, [President Obama] turned to me and said ‘Joe, get our combat troops out of Iraq.’"

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Biden steered the moderator’s question from his controversial support for the war, to the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw the lions’ share of US troops from Iraq, a decision that some foreign policy experts say was motivated by Iraq’s own parliament and not the Obama administration — and one that was too hasty, possibly fueling the rise of ISIS.

"I was responsible for getting 150,000 combat troops out of Iraq and my son was one of them," Biden said. "I also think we should not have combat troops in Afghanistan. It’s long overdue, it should end."

Biden’s opponents on the debate stage took advantage of his inconsistent views, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, one of the other frontrunners in the race.

"One of the differences that Joe and I have in our record, is Joe voted for that war and I helped lead the opposition to that war, which was a total disaster," Sanders said immediately after Biden gave his answer. "I will do everything I can to prevent a war with Iran which would be far worse than [sic] disastrous war with Iraq."

Biden attempted to rebut Sanders’s argument but was interrupted by an MSNBC moderator who promptly cut to a commercial break.

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Source: Business Insider – dchoi@businessinsider.com (David Choi)