Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) unleashed a sweeping indictment of American foreign policy on Thursday, arguing that the United States under President Donald Trump has become a driver of global military conflict rather than a force for peace — and demanding Congress confront a genocide in Sudan that Sanders says is being bankrolled by one of Washington’s closest allies in the Gulf.
In a lengthy post on X published at 3:29 PM on July 9, 2026, Sanders surveyed the bloodiest flashpoints of the current era — Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, and Sudan — and argued that the sheer scale of worldwide violence in 2026 represents a generational failure of humanity’s ability to resolve disputes without mass destruction. The post, running thousands of words, culminated in a direct accusation leveled at the United Arab Emirates and, implicitly, at Trump himself for maintaining close ties to Abu Dhabi despite what Sanders called that government’s documented role in financing genocide.
“More War and Bloodshed Than at Almost Any Point in Decades”
Sanders opened with a sweeping assessment of the global security landscape, writing: “This is the year 2026. One might have hoped that, after thousands of years of war, humanity could have come up with a better way to resolve conflicts than killing and mass destruction. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There is now more war and bloodshed raging across the world than at almost any point in decades.”
The Vermont independent then moved through the major conflicts in rough chronological order. He revisited Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, calling it unprovoked, and described the result as “hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians killed, millions displaced and a war that grinds on with no end in sight.” He then turned to the Middle East, beginning with the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which he acknowledged killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages, before pivoting to what he described as Israel’s disproportionate response.
Sanders Calls Gaza Campaign a Genocide
Sanders did not shy away from using the word genocide when describing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, a term he has deployed previously in formal Senate statements and one that has made him among the most outspoken critics of the Netanyahu government in the upper chamber of Congress.
“In response, Netanyahu and the Israeli military did not simply wage war against Hamas — they waged war against the entire population of Gaza,” he wrote. “At least 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, the real toll almost certainly far higher, most of them women, children and the elderly. Virtually the entire physical infrastructure of Gaza has been destroyed. I agree with the major human rights organizations around the world who call this a genocide.”
That position is consistent with a formal written statement Sanders released in September 2025, in which he detailed his legal and moral reasoning for calling Israel’s actions a genocide following a United Nations commission of inquiry that reached a similar conclusion.
Accusing Trump of Taking “a Page From Putin’s Playbook” on Iran
From Gaza, Sanders turned to the war with Iran, which he said Trump launched without provocation in collusion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — drawing what he called a direct parallel to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Four months ago, in collusion with Netanyahu, Trump took a page from Putin’s playbook: he started a war with Iran without provocation,” Sanders wrote. “The result of this war (and the ensuing Israeli war against Lebanon): 13 U.S. service members dead, thousands of Iranian and Lebanese civilians killed and more than $100 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars spent.”
The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February 2026. Sanders was among the first Senate voices to condemn the action, releasing a statement within hours calling it “an illegal, premeditated and unconstitutional war.” In that February 28 statement, he was equally blunt: “President Trump, along with his right-wing extremist Israeli ally Benjamin Netanyahu, has begun an illegal, premeditated and unconstitutional war. Tragically, Trump is gambling with American lives and treasure to fulfill Netanyahu’s decades-long ambition of dragging the United States into armed conflict with Iran.”
He followed that up in a March 10 statement targeting what he called the broader collapse of international law, writing: “The attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel are unraveling international law, the Geneva Conventions and the legitimacy of the United Nations. This is extremely dangerous for the future of the planet and humanity.”
Sudan: The War “Getting Relatively Little Attention”
After covering Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran, Sanders pivoted to the conflict he argued has been most obscured by the noise of other global crises: the civil war in Sudan between the national Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Sanders called it “another horrific war happening now that is getting relatively little attention.”
He laid out the conflict’s origins and genealogy in stark terms, reminding readers that the RSF is a direct descendant of the Janjaweed militias responsible for the Darfur genocide two decades ago: “The RSF descends from the Janjaweed militias that carried out Sudan’s first genocide in Darfur two decades ago, killing as many as 400,000 non-Arab civilians. Today, the RSF is trying to finish what it started.”
He cited the State Department’s formal genocide determination against the RSF and provided specific details about the fall of El-Fasher, a city in Darfur that came under siege last October. According to Sanders, an estimated 6,000 people were killed in just the first three days after the city fell. As of his post Thursday, he warned that a similar catastrophe was unfolding in El-Obeid, where he said nearly half a million people are trapped. That alarm has been echoed internationally — the U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency session earlier this month as fighting intensified, with the U.N. warning that 500,000 civilians in El-Obeid face grave danger from escalating drone strikes that have destroyed civilian infrastructure including fuel stations and the electricity grid.
UAE: A Trump Ally at the Center of the Genocide
The most politically charged section of Sanders’ post took aim directly at the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. strategic partner under the Trump administration, accusing it of financing and enabling the RSF’s genocidal campaign for years in exchange for looted Sudanese gold.
“Let’s be clear,” Sanders wrote. “Trump’s good friend and staunch U.S. ally, the United Arab Emirates dictatorship, run by one of the wealthiest families in the world — has financed and enabled this genocide for years. And why is this happening? Billions of dollars of looted gold from Sudan is flowing straight into the pockets of Emirati oligarchs — making a multibillionaire family even richer. This has been documented by the United Nations, independent journalists, and international human rights organizations.”
The accusation is backed by a significant and growing evidentiary record. Human Rights Watch and the Conflict Insights Group reported in May 2026 that hundreds of Colombian private military contractors, hired by an Abu Dhabi-based security company, were trained at UAE military facilities and subsequently deployed to fight alongside the RSF in Sudan, including during the assault on El-Fasher. Both the U.S. and U.K. have sanctioned senior RSF leadership and several UAE-based companies linked to RSF command structures, though neither government has formally named the UAE as a state sponsor.
The Human Scale of a Neglected Catastrophe
Sanders closed his survey of Sudan with casualty figures that he argued demand international action. “Here is the scale of what this war has caused: at least 59,000 people confirmed killed since 2023, with credible estimates running as high as 150,000. Fourteen million people driven from their homes. Thirty million people, two-thirds of Sudan’s population, in need of emergency humanitarian assistance just to survive.”
He then issued a direct demand of Congress and the broader framework of American foreign policy, writing: “U.S. foreign policy must be based on a respect for democracy and human rights. We cannot be complicit in the face of genocide, no matter where it is happening. Congress must demand that the UAE cease its military support for the RSF and work with the international community and the Sudanese people to bring an end to this horrific conflict and provide the humanitarian aid that is desperately needed there.”
A Pattern of Dissent on Military Force
Thursday’s post is consistent with a posture Sanders has maintained throughout the Trump administration’s second term: aggressive public opposition to what he characterizes as unilateral, unconstitutional military adventurism conducted without congressional authorization. In January 2026, when Trump launched military operations against Venezuela, Sanders called the action “illegal and unconstitutional” and demanded Congress immediately pass a War Powers resolution, arguing that “the President of the United States does NOT have the right to unilaterally take this country to war.”
Sanders has also used legislative tools to back his foreign policy objections, filing resolutions in March 2026 aimed at blocking $600 million in arms sales to Israel — actions that reflect a consistent willingness to use Senate procedure to challenge the executive branch’s conduct of military affairs.
The Full Post
Sanders published the statement in its entirety on X Thursday afternoon. The full text reads:
“This is the year 2026. One might have hoped that, after thousands of years of war, humanity could have come up with a better way to resolve conflicts than killing and mass destruction. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There is now more war and bloodshed raging across the world than at almost any point in decades.
In February 2022, Vladimir Putin, without provocation, invaded Ukraine. The result: hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians killed, millions displaced and a war that grinds on with no end in sight.
In October 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 innocent people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Netanyahu and the Israeli military did not simply wage war against Hamas — they waged war against the entire population of Gaza. At least 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, the real toll almost certainly far higher, most of them women, children and the elderly. Virtually the entire physical infrastructure of Gaza has been destroyed. I agree with the major human rights organizations around the world who call this a genocide.
Four months ago, in collusion with Netanyahu, Trump took a page from Putin’s playbook: he started a war with Iran without provocation. The result of this war (and the ensuing Israeli war against Lebanon): 13 U.S. service members dead, thousands of Iranian and Lebanese civilians killed and more than $100 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars spent.
And in the midst of all of this — Ukraine, Gaza, Iran — there is another horrific war happening now that is getting relatively little attention: the civil war and genocide in Sudan.
Sudan’s two rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the country’s national army, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, have been at war since 2023. The RSF descends from the Janjaweed militias that carried out Sudan’s first genocide in Darfur two decades ago, killing as many as 400,000 non-Arab civilians. Today, the RSF is trying to finish what it started. The State Department has formally determined that the RSF is committing genocide, again, murdering men and boys and systematically raping women and girls because of their ethnicity. Last October, the RSF laid siege to the city of El-Fasher; in just the first three days after it fell, an estimated 6,000 people were killed. Right now, the same horror is unfolding in the city of El-Obeid, where nearly half a million people are trapped.
Let’s be clear. Trump’s good friend and staunch U.S. ally, the United Arab Emirates dictatorship, run by one of the wealthiest families in the world — has financed and enabled this genocide for years. And why is this happening? Billions of dollars of looted gold from Sudan is flowing straight into the pockets of Emirati oligarchs – making a multibillionaire family even richer. This has been documented by the United Nations, independent journalists, and international human rights organizations.
Here is the scale of what this war has caused: at least 59,000 people confirmed killed since 2023, with credible estimates running as high as 150,000. Fourteen million people driven from their homes. Thirty million people, two–thirds of Sudan’s population, in need of emergency humanitarian assistance just to survive.
U.S. foreign policy must be based on a respect for democracy and human rights. We cannot be complicit in the face of genocide, no matter where it is happening. Congress must demand that the UAE cease its military support for the RSF and work with the international community and the Sudanese people to bring an end to this horrific conflict and provide the humanitarian aid that is desperately needed there.”