Gabbard declines to say whether Assad is a war criminal

[brooklynite]

Politico

Presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) declined Sunday to say whether Syrian President Bashar Assad is a war criminal, and did not answer whether she would trust her own intelligence community if elected commander in chief.

“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,” Gabbard told CNN host Dana Bash during a town hall event in Austin, Texas.

The remarks from Gabbard represent the latest entry in what lawmakers from both parties have criticized as a disconcerting posture toward Assad, which emerged when the Aloha State lawmaker made an unannounced visit to the Middle East strongman two years ago.

Gabbard previously said she was "skeptical" that Assad’s government perpetrated a chemical weapons attack in April 2017 that killed dozens of Syrians, although the Defense Department and the United Nations found that his regime was responsible for the slaughter.

Seems fair; which national leaders DON'T use military planes to bomb their own citizens?

[TwilightZone]

1. "did not answer whether she would trust her own intelligence community..."

I have to hope this is a misrepresentation of what she said, because we've spent the past two years dealing with someone with a similar attitude, and it's gone...poorly.

[W_HAMILTON]

4. It wasn't a misrepresentation.

She even used the excuse that they got it wrong on Iraq...

[dsc]

16. which they didn't

the fact is they provided both sides of the intel (that there was and that there wasn't WMD) but Cheney cherry picked the intel he wanted and that is what the President and he used.

[MH1]

20. Yes, I thought this was the worse of the two items.

I can handle an "assess the evidence" on Assad, giving what we know about how manipulated reporting from foreign countries is (*cough* Venezuela *cough*) ... although I would also accept "Yes based on what I know today I believe he is a war criminal" as a better response ... I don't think the key facts are that much in question on Assad.

I agree with what you said about not trusting the intelligence community. Fuck that, if the new Prez can't trust them, get the right relevant cabinet members in place and fix the problem so that you can trust them.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

2. If she cannot stand on her hind legs and call out a murderous tyrant

for his abominations, then she doesn't deserve to even be considered as possible presidential material.

Ever time she opens her mouth, she further soils herself.

Her anti-gay/anti-equal rights/anti-marriage equality comments make her unacceptable to me.

[Cha]

3. Some were asking in the other

thread on her what TG was being "evasive about".. well here' one thing.

[David__77]

5. I appreciate her anti-regime change war position.

Not so long ago the intelligence community got it badly wrong, at great cost.

[msongs]

6. she was happy as a clam to participate in the iraq regime change war and

touts that as a plus on her side

[David__77]

11. She's a veteran, yes. And now opposes new wars for regime change.

I totally get how veterans would have that perspective.

[greyl]

7. But the topic is whether or not Assad is a war criminal. nt

[David__77]

8. I don't think it's for the US to adjudicate.

...

[greyl]

10. Adjudicating is not the topic either. nt

[David__77]

13. I think she gave a good answer to the question.

...

[greyl]

14. She gave a response, but I think she dodged the question. nt

[Cha]

15. Jeeze.. TG wasn't opposed to Russia Bombing Syria and

and whined that President Obama wouldn't do it.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Tulsi Gabbard Is Not Anti-War

She has stated on numerous occasions that she supports expanding the use of drone strikes against military opponents, and, in 2014, refused to rule out the idea of using torture on suspected terrorists. Gabbard also spoke out vehemently against the Iran nuclear deal when it was first proposed by President Obama.

https://arcdigital.media/tulsi-gabbard-is-not-anti-war-660e7d1e4ce1

[msongs]

9. the post to which I replied is about her being anti-regime change when she clearly is not nt

[greyl]

12. You've mistaken my post as a reply to you. nt

[dsc]

17. No they didn't

the entire reason Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA agent was that her husband found info that put into question the whole uranium thing. He found it while working at the behest of the intelligence community. It was Cheney who cherry picked intel he liked.

[oasis]

18. 100% THIS!

[Blue_Tires]

19. Gabbard defenders, I cede the floor to you

Link to tweet