Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard refused Sunday to say whether Syrian President Bashar Assad, accused by the Department of Defense and the United Nations of gassing his own people, is a war criminal.
“I think that the evidence needs to be gathered, and as I have said before, if there is evidence that he has committed war crimes, he should be prosecuted as such,” the Hawaii congresswoman said after being asked the question during a CNN town hall event Sunday.
Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran and current Hawaii National Guard major, said her experience serving in the Middle East has informed her opinion on U.S. foreign policy, leading to her generally non-interventionist leanings. During the event Sunday, she also expressed skepticism in regard to trusting U.S. intelligence agencies.
“Like I said, we have, in our recent past, a situation where our own government told lies to the American people, and to the United Nations for that matter, to launch a war,” Gabbard said.
Gabbard stirred controversy in the past for a trip to Syria in 2017 where she met with Assad in person amid the country’s ongoing civil war. She also said in February that Assad is “not the enemy of the U.S.”
Syria has been in embroiled in a deadly civil war since 2011, which has claimed the lives of thousands. The Assad regime is supported by Russia and Iran.
[Read more: Tulsi Gabbard officially launches 2020 campaign preaching ‘service above self’]
