Gabbard reveals Assad meeting during secret Syria trip

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, and said "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. "Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact os that he is the president of Syria," Gabbard said during the interview. "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. The Syrian people will determine his outcome and what happens with their government and their future."

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."

As much of Washington prepared for the inauguration of President Donald Trump, I spent last week on a fact-finding mission in Syria and Lebanon to see and hear directly from the Syrian people. Their lives have been consumed by a horrific war that has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and forced millions to flee their homeland in search of peace.

It is clear now more than ever: this regime change war does not serve America’s interest, and it certainly isn’t in the interest of the Syrian people.

We met these children at a shelter in Aleppo, whose families fled the eastern part of the city. The only thing these kids want, the only thing everyone I came across wants, is peace. Many of these children have only known war. Their families want nothing more than to go home, and get back to the way things were before the war to overthrow the government started. This is all they want.

I traveled throughout Damascus and Aleppo, listening to Syrians from different parts of the country. I met with displaced families from the eastern part of Aleppo, Raqqah, Zabadani, Latakia, and the outskirts of Damascus. I met Syrian opposition leaders who led protests in 2011, widows and children of men fighting for the government and widows of those fighting against the government. I met Lebanon’s newly-elected President Aoun and Prime Minister Hariri, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard, Syrian President Assad, Grand Mufti Hassoun, Archbishop Denys Antoine Chahda of Syrian Catholic Church of Aleppo, Muslim and Christian religious leaders, humanitarian workers, academics, college students, small business owners, and more.

Their message to the American people was powerful and consistent: There is no difference between “moderate” rebels and al-Qaeda (al-Nusra) or ISIS — they are all the same. This is a war between terrorists under the command of groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and the Syrian government. They cry out for the U.S. and other countries to stop supporting those who are destroying Syria and her people.
I heard this message over and over again from those who have suffered and survived unspeakable horrors. They asked that I share their voice with the world; frustrated voices which have not been heard due to the false, one-sided biased reports pushing a narrative that supports this regime change war at the expense of Syrian lives.

I heard testimony about how peaceful protests against the government that began in 2011 were quickly overtaken by Wahhabi jihadist groups like al-Qaeda (al-Nusra) who were funded and supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, the United States, and others. They exploited the peaceful protesters, occupied their communities, and killed and tortured Syrians who would not cooperate with them in their fight to overthrow the government.

I met a Muslim girl from Zabadani who was kidnapped, beaten repeatedly, and raped in 2012, when she was just 14 years old, by “rebel groups” who were angry that her father, a sheep herder, would not give them his money. She watched in horror as masked men murdered her father in their living room, emptying their entire magazine of bullets into him.

I met a boy who was kidnapped while walking down the street to buy bread for his family. He was tortured, waterboarded, electrocuted, placed on a cross and whipped, all because he refused to help the “rebels” — he told them he just wanted to go to school. This is how the “rebels” are treating the Syrian people who do not cooperate with them, or whose religion is not acceptable to them. Although opposed to the Assad government, the political opposition spoke strongly about their adamant rejection of the use of violence to bring about reforms. They argue that if the Wahhabi jihadists, fueled by foreign governments, are successful in overthrowing the Syrian state, it would destroy Syria and its long history of a secular, pluralist society where people of all religions have lived peacefully side by side. Although this political opposition continues to seek reforms, they are adamant that as long as foreign governments wage a proxy regime change war against Syria using jihadist terrorist groups, they will stand with the Syrian state as they work peacefully toward a stronger Syria for all Syrians.

Originally, I had no intention of meeting with Assad, but when given the opportunity, I felt it was important to take it. I think we should be ready to meet with anyone if there’s a chance it can help bring about an end to this war, which is causing the Syrian people so much suffering.

I return to Washington, DC with even greater resolve to end our illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government. From Iraq to Libya and now in Syria, the U.S. has waged wars of regime change, each resulting in unimaginable suffering, devastating loss of life, and the strengthening of groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS.

I call upon Congress and the new Administration to answer the pleas of the Syrian people immediately and support the Stop Arming Terrorists Act. We must stop directly and indirectly supporting terrorists — directly by providing weapons, training and logistical support to rebel groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS; and indirectly through Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and Turkey, who, in turn, support these terrorist groups. We must end our war to overthrow the Syrian government and focus our attention on defeating al-Qaeda and ISIS.

The U.S. must stop supporting terrorists who are destroying Syria and her people. The U.S. and other countries fueling this war must stop immediately. We must allow the Syrian people to try to recover from this terrible war.

Thank you,

Tulsi

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