Sanders: I wouldn’t end drone program

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The U.S. lethal drone campaign would not come to an end if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) entered the White House, the presidential contender said on Sunday,

In an interview on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Sanders indicated that he would limit the use of drones so that they do not end up killing innocent people abroad, but declined to say that he would end the targeted killing campaign completely.

“I think we have to use drones very, very selectively and effectively. That has not always been the case,” Sanders said.

“What you can argue is that there are times and places where drone attacks have been effective,” he added.

“There are times and places where they have been absolutely counter-effective and have caused more problems than they have solved. When you kill innocent people, what the end result is that people in the region become anti-American who otherwise would not have been.”

Sanders — whose bid for the Democratic presidential nomination has been gaining support in recent weeks — has largely steered clear of national security and foreign policy issues, instead preferring to discuss domestic policies.

On Sunday, he said his campaign is “going to spend more time on” foreign policy in coming months, noting that the election cycle is still young.

“I promise you, we’ll address it,” he said.

President Obama’s escalation of the drone campaign against suspected terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere has inflamed some of his critics on the left. They have accuse the White House of exacerbating global extremism and of illegally killing Americans, including Anwar al-Awlaki, who were never given a trial.