Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, revealed Wednesday that she met with Syrian President Bashar Assad during her recent secret trip to Syria.
Appearing on CNN, Gabbard explained that she did not plan on meeting with Assad, who has been derided as a criminal for killing thousands of Syrians under his presidency. But she did so because the U.S. should be ready and willing to “meet with anyone” in order to achieve peace.
“I did,” Gabbard said when asked by host Jake Tapper if she met with Assad. “My reason for going to visit Syria was really because of the suffering of the Syria people that has been weighing heavily on my heart. I wanted to see if there was, in some small way, a way that I could express my love and the aloha and the care that the American people have for the people of Syria and to see first hand what is happening there, to see the situation there.”
“Initially I hadn’t planned on meeting him,” she said. “When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there’s a possible that we could achieve peace, and that’s exactly what we talked about.”
The Hawaii Democrat also touched on complaints from her colleagues, specifically, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who called Assad a “butcher” in a tweet and has called for the U.S. to arm the moderate rebels in Syria. Gabbard argued that there are no more moderate rebels left in the region to arm, adding that any discussion about the future of Syria needs to be had with Assad despite his actions against his people.
“Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact is that he is the president of Syria. In order for any peace agreement, in order for any possibility of a viable peace agreement to occur, there has to be a conversation with him,” Gabbard argued. “The Syrian people will determine his outcome and what happens with their government and their future.”
“Our focus, my focus, my commitment, is on ending this war that has caused so much suffering to these Syrian people, to these children, to these families, many of whom I met on this trip,” Gabbard said. “It’s important for us to stay focused on doing what is in their best interest and what is in our best interest, and doing what is necessary to make that happen.”
Tapper pushed back on Gabbard’s claim that the Syrians will be able to control their future, arguing that “free and fair elections” are not a thing in the Middle Eastern nation.
After news emerged about the trip last week, a Gabbard spokesperson labeled it a “fact-finding trip,” but declined to reveal any information about a possible meeting with Assad.
Gabbard has been an outspoken advocate who has called for the U.S. to stop aiding and assisting groups attempting to overthrow Assad, and has said those policies harm efforts to combat ISIS in the region.
Gabbard made the trip without informing congressional leaders, but she didn’t confirm meeting with Assad until Wednesday during a CNN interview.
Former President Obama said that Assad “must go” as the civil war crescendoed in 2011. “The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way,” he said.
Assad maintained that his opponents are terrorists and fought to remain in power with the support of Russian and Iran, as ISIS and other terrorist groups gained strength during the chaos. The tactical situation in Syria produced a tangled coalition of allies and enemies; reputedly “moderate” Syrian rebels and ISIS both identified Assad as an enemy, and the Obama administration coordinated a war against ISIS while also providing support to select rebel groups.
Gabbard, reminded that the United States denies supporting terrorists and that Syria doesn’t have free elections, replied that the “so-called rebel groups” are allied with terrorism and that Assad has popular support.
“The Syrian people recognize and they know that if President Assad is overthrown, then al Qaeda or a group like al Qaeda — that has been killing Christians, killing people simply because of their religion, or because they won’t support their terror activities — they will take charge of all of Syria,” Gabbard said. “This is the reality that the people of Syria are facing on the ground and why they are pleading with us here in the United States to stop supporting these terrorist groups. Let the Syrian people themselves determine their future. Not the United States, not some foreign country.”
Joel Gehrke contributed
