After walking on stage to "Rockin' In The Free World" by Neil Young Sunday night, Bernie Sanders laid into one of the world's most autocratic countries, United States ally Saudi Arabia.
"This is a point that must be made. It is a contentious point," Sanders said at the New Hampshire Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson dinner Sunday. "Countries in the region, like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE — countries of enormous wealth and resources — have contributed far too little in the fight against ISIS."
"Saudi Arabia has the third largest defense budget in the world. Yet, instead of fighting ISIS, they have focused more on a campaign to oust Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen," Sanders said.
"That must change," Sanders said.
"[Jordanian] King Abdullah when he says that the Muslim nations must lead the fight against ISIS, and that includes some of the most wealthy and powerful nations in the region, who, up to this point, have done far too little," Sanders said. "The fight against ISIS is a struggle for the soul of Islam, and countering violent extremism and destroying ISIS must be done primarily by Muslim nations."
Though they would likely disagree, or deny that there were overlaps in their respective plans, Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio has also proposed a force led by Muslim nations against the Islamic State.
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in an interview on "Meet the Press" today that he was skeptical how such a hypothetical force would work, at least in Iraq, while also stating his opposition to American ground troops.
"You hear people talk about sending combat formations from Arab nations into Iraq to fight ISIS — that's just not going to happen," Gates said. "First they are not going to be willing to send their troops, but second, the Iraqis probably wouldn't allow them to come anyway."
"We do not need a 'tough' foreign policy, we need a smart foreign policy," Sanders said of the United States' general posture toward to the Middle East.
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