A longtime Clinton confidante and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, got into a social media scrap about the conflict in Syria on Saturday, and it all started because of a tweet from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Though she acknowledges Syrian President Bashar Assad is a “brutal dictator,” Gabbard has made waves in recent years for her opposition to overthrowing his regime, which would result in a power vacuum that she said could endanger Christians and other religious minorities in the region.
Taking a shot at the CIA, Gabbard tweeted Friday that the intellligence agency “has directly & indirectly been arming so-called ‘moderate’ rebels who are allied with al-Qaeda to overthrow Syrian govt.”
For years the CIA has directly & indirectly been arming so-called “moderate” rebels who are allied with al-Qaeda to overthrow Syrian govt
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) December 17, 2016
This prompted a reply from Duke, who recently lost a bid to be a U.S. senator from Louisiana.
“The powers that be hate Assad because he protects Syrian Christians from being raped and slaughtered wholesale,” he wrote.
– The powers that be hate Assad because he protects Syrian Christians from being raped and slaughtered wholesale. pic.twitter.com/Jt29M5tqEm
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) December 17, 2016
This is when Tanden, who is president of the liberal Center for American Progress, chimed in.
“Lord,” she wrote in reply to Duke.
Lord. https://t.co/YhvIG9PTmH
— Neera Tanden ? (@neeratanden) December 17, 2016
About an hour later Tanden said her tweet about Duke’s support for Gabbard’s “pro-Assad statements” prompted Russians to tweet “nonsense at me.”
I tweeted out that David Duke was supporting @TulsiGabbard‘s pro-Assad statements, and now I have Russians tweeting similar nonsense at me.
— Neera Tanden ? (@neeratanden) December 17, 2016
Soon after, Gabbard took a shot directly at Tanden.
“Shocking @neeratanden believes we shld ally w/ al-Qaeda to overthrow Syrian govt; opposes Stop Arming Terrorists Act,” she said Saturday morning. The comment earned swift condemnation from Tanden, who asked the lawmaker for proof that she opposes Gabbard’s proposed bill aimed at stopping the U.S. from supplying money and arms to opposition groups with ties to terrorism.
Shocking @neeratanden believes we shld ally w/ al-Qaeda to overthrow Syrian govt; opposes Stop Arming Terrorists Acthttps://t.co/sXnHA23Uo5
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) December 17, 2016
“Why misrepresent my views Tulsi?I don’t think that.Just wish you’d criticize Assad.” Tanden said, adding, “Btw how was Trump and Bannon meeting u had?”
Tanden went on to urge Gabbard to “criticize Assad for slaughtering his people. She also asked, “Perhaps you can let folks know why you were 1 of 3 members in whole House who wouldn’t condemn Assad? Look what he’s doing now.”
Gabbard was one of three lawmakers to vote against H. Con. Res. 121 in March, which expressed “the sense of the Congress condemning the gross violations of international law amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Government of Syria, its allies, and other parties to the conflict in Syria.
The Hawaii congresswoman explained on the House Floor that she opposed the “war bill” because it was concerned about “unnecessary interventionist regime-change wars” that worsened “humanitarian conditions” and strengthened U.S. enemies, like the Islamic State, in Iraq and Syria.
Gabbard said the lives of Christians and other minority groups in Syria, which are protected under the Assad regime, would be put in danger if the U.S. government is successful in toppling Syrian government.
“The United States will be morally culpable for the genocide that will occur as a result,” Gabbard said.
