Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday demanded that Syrian President Bashar Assad be “executed” if it is confirmed he ordered the deadly chemical attack earlier this week that killed dozens of Syrian civilians, according to a report.
The Hawaiian lawmaker, who met with Assad earlier this year, made that statement on the same day President Trump authorized a missile strike against the airbase from which the chemical attack is believed to have originated, according to Hawaii News Now.
After the stike, Gabbard put out another statement condeming the administration for acting “recklessly without care or consideration of the dire consequences of the United States attack on Syria without waiting for the collection of evidence from the scene of the chemical poisoning.”
Trump, in his address to the nation following the U.S. military operation, unequivocally pinned the blame on Assad for the chemical weapons attack, which killed about 80 people, including children.
“Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians using a deadly nerve agent,” he said.
The Syrian government denies it was involved in the attack, though the Pentagon said Thursday it detected Syrian fixed-wing aircraft drop bombs on the Syrian town the chemical attack took place.
In her original statement, before the strike, Gabbard detailed what a proper prosecution of Assad would look like before making any conclusions.
“A successful prosecution of Assad (at the International Criminal Court) will require collection of evidence from the scene of the incident, and I support the United Nation’s efforts in this regard,” Gabbard said. “Without such evidence, a successful prosecution is impossible.”
Gabbard, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, also expressed her opposition to an escalation of U.S. involvement in Syria, which she said would mean “more dead civilians, more refugees, the strengthening of terrorists, and a possible nuclear war between the United States and Russia.”
Gabbard met with Assad to discuss ending the Syrian civil war during a secret trip to Syria in January. In a follow-up interview with CNN, she said, “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 [Assad].”
