7 Times Tulsi Gabbard Went To Bat In Congress For Now-Deposed Syrian Dictator Bashar Assad

LOADING ERROR LOADING The apparent sympathy that Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic representative and GOP President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national intelligence director, has expressed for now-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad continues to trail her as she tries to round up support among senators for her confirmation. Here are some of the things Gabbard had said on the floor of the House, or later inserted as written statements in the Congressional Record, on the need to keep Assad from being toppled and what would happen after his fall: May 2018 In advocating for removing language in an annual defense policy bill that approved developing a strategy to counter Iran, Gabbard said, “It’s clear that, if left unchecked, war hawks in the Trump administration will drag our country into more Middle East wars, leaving destruction in its wake around the world and here at home.” She added: “So what’s the objective of this authorization for war? Yemen?” December 2016 Talking about her bill to prohibit the government from supporting foreign terror groups, Gabbard said the U.S. had for years been “directly and indirectly supporting allies and partners of groups like al Qaeda and ISIS with money, weapons, intelligence and other support in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government.” “The Wall Street Journal reports that rebel groups are, quote, ‘doubling down on their alliance’ with al Qaeda. June 2016 Speaking of a provision to equip and train rebel Syrian groups in a defense funding bill, Gabbard said the groups remained focused on overthrowing Assad, which would end up “creating an even worse humanitarian crisis and an even greater threat to the world.” “We’re waging two wars in Syria, providing arms and support to groups that have opposing objectives,” she said. By helping groups fighting to overthrow Assad, we’re essentially helping ISIS and al Qaeda achieve their objective of taking over all of Syria.” March 2016 In discussing one of two Syria-related resolutions, Gabbard called it “a thinly veiled attempt to use the rationale of humanitarianism as a justification for overthrowing the Syrian government of Assad.” “If the U.S. is successful in its current effort to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad, allowing groups like ISIS and al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations to take over all of Syria, which is what will happen, including those Assad-controlled areas where Christians and other religious minorities remain protected, the United States will be morally culpable for the genocide that will occur as a result,” she said.