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Fact check of the January Democratic debate

Welcome to CNN's fact check coverage of the last Democratic presidential debate before the voting begins with the Iowa caucuses on February 3. We will post fact checks as we complete them.

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CNN staff
CNN — Welcome to CNN's fact check coverage of the last Democratic presidential debate before the voting begins with the Iowa caucuses on February 3. We will post fact checks as we complete them.

The debate is being hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It starts at 9 p.m. ET.

Tonight's debate will include six candidates who met the party's qualification criteria, the smallest number to date. The candidates are former Vice President Joe Biden; Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; and businessman Tom Steyer.

Three weeks from the Iowa Caucus, the debate comes amid tension between Sanders and Warren, two longtime allies on the left, and amid an increased focus on foreign policy after President Donald Trump's decision to order the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

Buttigieg, a Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, has challenged Biden over the former vice president's support for the invasion of Iraq. Biden, who has aggressively defended his foreign policy record, has sometimes resorted to falsehoods as he has defended his position on the war.

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