Sanders vows ‘debate’ on Hillary’s Iraq vote

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made clear he intends to challenge Hillary Clinton on her 2002 vote to launch the Iraq War as they compete for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Sanders, fresh off launching his own White House bid, said Clinton’s vote “doesn’t disqualify her,” from seeking the party’s nomination in an interview on CNN’s “Wolf,” but he made it clear he would spotlight the issue.

“We will have that debate,” vowed Sanders.

{mosads}Sanders suggested in multiple media events Thursday that the issue highlighted an important difference between him and Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, who voted for the war as a senator from New York.

At a news briefing outside the Capitol, Sanders noted his vote against the war as House member and said he had “helped lead the effort” to stop the war.

“Many of the things I said back then turned out to be true,” Sanders said, citing the continued violence and instability in Iraq and the Middle East.

Another potential Clinton challenger, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, has also repeatedly highlighted Clinton’s Iraq War vote, which also  played a central role in her failed 2008 presidential bid to then-Sen. Barack Obama. Obama was not in the Senate at the time of the Iraq War resolution but stressed his opposition to the war from its start.

Sanders on Thursday also noted his opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the Obama administration is negotiating, issues that he could use to draw a contrast with the former secretary of State.