Bernie Sanders has reached out to at least one former member of George W. Bush’s administration. | AP Photo Sanders reaches out for foreign-policy help

Amid criticism that his campaign lacks depth on foreign policy, Bernie Sanders is reaching out to several experts in the field to assist his campaign.

Lawrence J. Korb, a defense policy expert at the Center for American Progress, told POLITICO that Sanders called him Sunday to ask whether the Vermont senator can name him as an adviser to his campaign. Korb agreed. “I said he could,” Korb said. “That’s the last I heard. I don't know if it’s going to be formal or anything.”


Sanders surprised Korb last month by mentioning him in an interview as an adviser. At the time, Korb said he'd spoken to POLITICO just once since his campaign began. Soon after, Korb—who served as a Pentagon official under Ronald Reagan—wrote an essay for POLITICO calling Sanders "serious" on foreign policy.

Sources said the Sanders campaign has also hired Bill French, a policy analyst at the left-leaning National Security Network, as a foreign policy staffer—apparently the campaign's first full-time aide in that area. French referred questions to the Sanders campaign, which did not respond to a query. His hiring was first reported today by Foreign Policy. Korb spoke highly of French, noting that French had once interned for him. (French's LinkedIn profile shows that he interned at the Center for American Progress in 2011, soon after graduating from the University of Chicago.)

And in what may be a sign of the challenge Sanders has faced in finding Democratic experts unaligned with — or willing to alienate — Hillary Clinton, he has reached out to at least one former member of George W. Bush’s administration.

Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell — and who harshly criticized Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq — said that he has given Sanders his advice.

“Of late, I've been asked by quite a number of people or groups to advise on national security and foreign policy. The Sanders campaign has been one of these and I have spoken directly to the Senator on one occasion, at this point,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson helped prepare Powell's famous Unite National speech accusing Iraq of hiding a weapons of mass destruction program, but became a hero on the left after turning against the Iraq War and saying in 2005 that he had unwittingly "participated in a hoax" against the American people and the world. He has also said that Vice President Dick Cheney should be "in jail for war crimes" and that some Republicans, including John McCain were "bordering on being traitors" for their opposition to President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal.

Sanders still has a long ways to go to compete with Clinton's sprawling network of hundreds of expert advisers on national security. His allies say there's no evidence that Democratic voters fixated on income inequality and social issues are troubled by — or even paying attention to — his lack of an advisory team. They also call his judgment about the Iraq War — which he opposed and Clinton supported — far more important than who he talks to.

Clinton herself has cited Sanders' lack of a foreign policy team, saying on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Feb. 7 that "there really isn't any kind of foreign policy network that is supporting and advising Senator Sanders." Her supporters warn that Sanders would be hobbled in a general election by voter concerns that he does not have sufficient experience on matters like terrorism and the Middle East.

In a previous interview, Korb said that after the socialist senator named him as a possible Secretary of Defense pick he fielded several calls from people interested in assisting Sanders. Korb said he has referred those people to the campaign, though he declined to name them.

Although Korb's employer, the Center for American Progress, was founded and is largely staffed by Clinton allies, he insisted there was nothing awkward about his alignment with Sanders. While at CAP, Korb also advised Barack Obama during Obama's 2008 primary challenge to Clinton and said he experienced no blowback. "I told my boss I won't do it during work hours or use any of the facilities here," he said.

Meanwhile, at a CNN town hall forum on Tuesday night, Sanders was asked about a POLITICO story describing his 1974 call to abolish the CIA.

Asked by the forum's host, Chris Cuomo, whether he still holds that view, Sanders said: "No, I don't. That was 40 years ago. Since then I've served as eight years as mayor of the city of Burlington. I spent 16 years in the House and nine years in the United States Senate."

He added that he does have "concerns about past activities of the CIA," including the spy agency's role in the 1953 overthrow of Iran's democratically elected prime minister.

"The CIA plays an important role," he added. "But have they done things which they should not have done on behalf of the United States government? Absolutely."

