Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence avoided answering questions about Bashar Al-Assad, the recently ousted dictator of Syria whom she met in 2017.
Tulsi Gabbard declined to state whether she thought Assad, who has been known to authorize the use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, should be considered a war criminal, according to Fox News.
This inquiry arose shortly after reports surfaced that Assad had fled Syria for Moscow following the takeover by rebel forces of the country he had governed since 2000.
Gabbard notoriously met with Assad during a ‘fact-finding’ mission to the nation seven years ago, a trip that caused consternation and generated much controversy.
Syria is a country with which the U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations, and U.S. military forces aligned themselves with rebel factions in the country’s civil war.
Assad instead opted to team up with Russia, who has operated military instillations around the country for years.
Now tapped as Trump’s top intelligence official, Gabbard’s cozy relationship with Assad is now coming under heightened scrutiny, especially given the ex-dictator’s prominence in the news recently.
And given that Assad is now being harbored by one of the U.S.’s chief geopolitical rivals, the senators tasked with confirming Gabbard to DNI have lots of questions about her trip
Tulsi Gabbard (C), President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, arrives to meet with Republican Senator from South Dakota Mike Rounds
Gabbard drew controversy when she met with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad amidst the brutal civil war there in 2017
Gabbard met with Assad during what she called a ‘fact-finding’ mission to Syria
‘A lot of her past statements deserve inquiry,’ Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told DailyMail.com.
‘I think she was one of the earliest parrators of Damascus and Kremlin talking points.’
‘You can have a sincere belief that brutal dictators should remain in power, but I think we need to pose some inquiries as to why she took the positions that she took at a time when very few other people believed that Bashar Al-Assad or Vladimir Putin deserved defense.’
Murphy added that he has no doubt there are better people for the job, though he did not say whether he was opposed to voting for her.
Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons had an even harsher assessment.
‘No one should mourn the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad, a murderous dictator who, only with the help of Russia and Iran, was able to suppress an uprising of his own citizens by massacring them,’ he told DailyMail.com
‘The DNI is a really critical role,’ he continued, adding it is important to ‘make sure that someone who’s in that role is a person of good character, with the relevant experience.’
Looking ahead to his own sit-down with Gabbard, though a meeting is not currently on the books, Coons said he will be asking the former Democrat about her visit to Syria.
Gabbard’s previous trip to meet with Assad has already impacted how senators are thinking about her candidacy for DNI
Trump had Gabbard join him at multiple campaign events this year before tapping her to become his director of national intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard, said in a 2019 interview she has ‘no’ regrets about sitting down with Syrian dictator Bash al-Assad
‘I will be asking her about why she thought it was wise to go and visit Bashar Al-Assad, [and] what the consequences are for her views on foreign policy and security.’
In repeated interviews since her journey to Syria, Gabbard maintained her trip to see the devastation brought by the civil war between Assad’s forces and rebels and ISIS terrorists was the proper thing to do.
‘It continues to be very important for any leader in this country to be willing to meet with others, whether they be friends or adversaries or potential adversaries, if we are serious about the pursuit of peace and securing our country,’ she said in a 2019 interview about her sit down with Assad.
Republicans, who will have the majority next Congress and task with shepherding Trump’s DNI pick through the upper chamber come January, were less worried about Gabbard’s past meeting with the former dictator.
Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin responded to reporters questions about Gabbard saying 2017 was a different time.
‘What was happening in 2017 is completely different than what was going on today,’ he said.
And he was quick to point out: ‘The information we were getting in 2017 from the Obama administration.’
Noting the attacks carried out on the Syrian people by Assad’s forces the Republican remarked how the perspective back then was different, and that leading sources at the time primarily blamed Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah for many Syrian atrocities.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham after meeting with Gabbard noted the differences the two have had in the past.
‘We’ve had policy differences,’ he said. ‘But, you know, she’ll be serving Trump.’
Though he did admit that he liked her during the sit-down.
When pressed about Gabbard’s relationship with Assad, Sen. John Cornyn simply responded: ‘I’m looking forward to meeting with her.’
