National interests v. adventurism

Trump, Sanders say U.S. should not try to topple dictators

U.S. presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump said separately on Sunday that the United States should not try to topple dictators such as Syria's Bashar al-Assad, highlighting a skepticism over foreign wars that transcends party lines.

Both candidates said the Middle East would be less tumultuous today if Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Iraq's Saddam Hussein were still in charge, arguing that the United States faces a greater threat from Islamic State and other extremist groups that have flourished in their wake.

"The region would be much more stable" with Gaddafi, Hussein and Assad in place, Sanders, a Democrat, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."