Sanders condemns Clinton over voting for Iraq war

US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has censured former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her support of the Iraq war and connections to big banks.

“I do not receive many millions of dollars from Wall Street or the pharmaceutical industry or other powerful, wealthy interests in this country, and have not given speeches for hundreds of thousands of dollars to Wall Street,” Sanders said in Chicago on Thursday.

During his speech, Sanders also denounced former President George W. Bush over misleading the public in order to justify the Iraq war, and Clinton over her vote in favor of the war.

“I didn’t believe them,” he said. “I voted against the war. My opponent, Secretary Clinton, voted for the war.”

In March 2003, the United States and Britain invaded Iraq in blatant violation of international law and under the pretext of finding Weapons of Mass Destruction; but no such weapons were ever discovered in Iraq.

More than one million Iraqis were killed as the result of the US-led invasion, and subsequent occupation of the country, according to the California-based investigative organization Project Censored.

The US war in Iraq cost American taxpayers $1.7 trillion with an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans, expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest, according to a study called Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

Clinton is also under fire over her close connections to big banks on Wall Street and accepting large amounts for making speeches.

According to a report by CNN, Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, made a combined $153 million off paid speeches from 2001 to 2015.

According to CNN’s analysis, in total, the couple gave 729 speeches from February 2001 to May 2015 -- when Hillary launched her presidential campaign -- for an average payout of $210,795 for each speech.

Of those speeches, at least 39 were given to big banks -- including Goldman Sachs and UBS – which paid the couple $7.7 million.

In a recent interview with Press TV, American journalist Don DeBar said Clinton would be the ideal president for Wall Street and the military-industrial complex.

"Wall Street has thrown her lots of,  lots of money as have many other very influential groups -- the military-industrial complex comes to mind,” DeBar said on February 7.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk