Disclaimer:This petition is neither an endorsement nor an attack of Senator Bernie Sanders. It is simply a matter of combating misinformation. This petition is only in reference to the first Gulf War, where Iraq invaded Kuwait, which is separate from the 2003 Gulf War where the US invaded Iraq, which is still ongoing as of the date of this petition. This is also not a demand for Senator to attack or defend any currentworld leaders or governments, including Iraq's or Kuwait's.

In August of 1990, the Iraqi forces, under command of Saddam Hussein, crossed the Iraq-Kuwait border. The Kuwaiti leadership fled as the Kuwaiti army collapsed, and diplomats sent to negotiate were killed by the Iraqi leadership.

Saddam claimed Iraqi ownership of the State of Kuwait, installed a brutal puppet government, declared the value of the Kuwaiti Dinar to be equal to the Iraqi Dinar, and had extra-judicial killings to frighten resistance members, and their families. There are horrors that you can read about, but they are not for the faint of heart.

The US, and its allies first responded by placing sanctions, but they only hurt the poor while not affecting Saddam's decision. His actions were not justifiable even in the eyes of his allies at the time.

After the UN security council passed several resolutions condemning the invasion, there was agreement that military action was the last reasonable option. The resolution to grant the US president War Powers passed the House, and in January 17, 1991, Senator Bernie Sanders stated that he would vote against military intervention and urged his fellow Senators to do the same. The resolution passed 52-48.

The Iraqi forces withdrew in February 28th, 1991, and almost a month later, the coalition forces withdrew from Kuwait. There was a lot to deal with: finding Kuwaiti POWs (if they were alive), putting out the Oil Fires, rebuilding the infrastructure, etc. However, Kuwait was liberated thanks to coalition forces, the most important of which was the US, and remains a peaceful country that has some of the most democratic institutions in the region.

Though the war was costly, we believe that this was one of the few cases that necessitated military action, and Senator Bernie Sanders owes an apology for the people of Kuwait, and other American allies for refusing to stand up for agreements between countries. Though he had very legitimate reasons for opposing them, we hope that he sees that, at least in hindsight, that those reasons do not outweigh the reasons to necessitate war.

If you are still not convinced because you believe that countries should not get involved in other countries issues, I would like to remind you of the warning signs before WW2. Appeasement didn't work for the smaller countries around Nazi Germany, Poland could not defend itself alone, and the UK would have fallen if not for her allies. The Second World War has no doubt costed many lives, and words cannot do the tragedy justice, but if the Allies did not retaliate together, then they would have fallen, and the suffering inflicted on the world not have been any less.

In summary, while we believe that senator Sanders had good reason to oppose the war, his refusal to support it after all other forms of intervention failed, is a stain on his reputation as a unifier, and decreases trust between countries. Any statement from the senator that shows that he would have responded with military action, and/or is willing to do so if the sovereignty of its allies is threatened by a military, then military response is required.

To be fair to the Senator, here is the link to video of him explaining his vote: www.c-span.org/video/?c4543960/user-clip-bernie-sanders-speaking-persian-gulf-war-1991

Here is the Wikipedia Link for the first Gulf War: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War