A video showing a United States army veteran squaring up to President Joe Biden over his controversial support for the 2002 Iraq invasion.
The video is going viral as March 20, 2023, marks 20 years since the United States launched a ground invasion of Iraq, assuring an end the rule of former President Saddam Hussein and the destruction of alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the oil-rich country.
Claim:
The viral video shows a person who claims to be an Air Force veteran talking to US President Joe Biden. “We are wondering why we should vote for someone who voted for a war and enabled a war that killed thousands of our brothers and sisters, countless Iraqi civilians. You enabled that war and you also gave a medal to a man who enabled that war and caused that war. Their blood is on your hands.”
Biden then talks about his son being a part of the war to which the person replies that he isn’t attacking his son. Biden walks away as the person says, “You are disqualified, sir,” and “Their blood is on your hands.”
The video is viral with the claim, “AMERICA: FREE SPEECH. Here’s what he says to President Biden of America: “Millions are dead in Iraq. We actually fought in your damn wars. You sent us to hurt civilians. Millions of people died in Iraq. Actually, we fought your wars. You sent us to injure civilians…”
Other users shared the video with the claim, “A soldier saying this on the face to thr president. Something unimaginable in most other countries!”
The video was shared by LiveMint in an article published on March 21, 2023, without clarifying when the video was filmed.
Fact Check:
We conducted a keyword search with keywords, ‘Blood Is on your hands Joe Biden’, and came across an article by Business Today published on March 21, 2023.
The Business Today report notes that an air force veteran confronts Biden over his support for the Iraqi invasion. “The incident took place during a campaign event in Oakland, California in March 2020,” the Business Today report adds.
We also came across Independent.co.uk titled, ‘Their blood is on your hands’: Veterans confront Joe Biden over support for Iraq war’ published on March 5, 2020. The Independent describes the incident as the then Democratic presidential nominee being confronted by military veterans over his past support for the Iraq war.
As per the Independent article, during a campaign event in Oakland, California on March 3, 2020, military veteran Michael Thurman asked Mr Biden: “We are just wondering why we should vote for someone who voted for a war and enabled a war that killed thousands of our brothers and sisters [and] countless Iraqi civilians.”
The article also noted Biden’s response, referring to his son Beau who had served with the Army National and was deployed to Iraq in 2008. In his response, Biden reportedly interrupts Mr Thurman, saying: “So was my son, was in Iraq, for a year. Not that it matters, right? It matters a lot to me. Let me tell you something.”
“Thurman also slammed the former vice president for awarding the Liberty Medal on Veterans Day in 2018 to former president George W Bush, who led the war effort during his two-term presidency,” the report further reads.
The Independent report also adds that Thurman is a member of About Face: Veterans Against the War, formerly known as Iraq Veterans Against the War, which had called for the immediate withdrawal of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as occupied areas in the Middle East.
The Twitter handle of the organization ‘About Face: Veterans Against the War’ had tweeted the video of the incident on March 4, 2020. with the caption, “Two veterans confronted @JoeBiden about his record of supporting war during his campaign stopover in Oakland on Super Tuesday”. Biden has been criticized for his past record of voting for the invasion of Iraq in 2002 as a Democrat in the Senate.
Joe Biden, as chair of the Senate’s foreign relations committee, exerted enormous influence in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Before the vote, he is quoted as saying by the Independent, “I do not believe this is a rush to war … I believe it is a march to peace and security.”
In a bid to explain his vote in September 2019 in an interview with NPR, Biden had said that his rationale in authorizing the use of military force in Iraq in 2002 was based on a commitment he had received from then-President George W. Bush that he would not go to war in Iraq.
Conclusion:
We found that the viral video showing the US army veteran confronting US President Joe Biden is not recent. The video dates back to March 2020, at a campaign event in Oakland, California. The viral video has been circulated as recent in light of 20 years since the invasion of Iraq.
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Fact Check
2023-03-22 09:39:26.0
Does This Video Show US President Joe Biden Being Recently Confronted By A Military Vet Over The Iraq war? No, Viral Video Dates Back To 2020
