Gabbard quietly makes visit to Syria

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard traveled to Syria this week on what her aides described as a “fact-finding” mission relating to her efforts to bring resolution to a war that has torn the country apart and heightened tensions between the United States and Russia.

“As a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, and as an individual committed to doing all she can to promote and work for peace, she felt it was important to meet with a number of individuals and groups including religious leaders, humanitarian workers, refugees and government and community leaders,” according to a statement from Emily Latimer, a spokeswoman for the congresswoman. “For security reasons, we will not be releasing additional details or comments until she returns.”

Gabbard’s trip also includes travel to Lebanon. She is scheduled to be back in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.

Gabbard has been a sharp critic of U.S. intervention in Syria and attempts to oust President Bashar al-Assad — who has come under fire for human rights abuses and war crimes — maintaining that removing the leader will create a vacuum that will be filled by Islamic extremist groups.

Gabbard recently introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act out of concern that the U.S. has been inadvertently arming groups such as Islamic State and al-­Qaeda as the government works to aid Syrian rebel groups. She’s been urging support for the measure through social media and national and local news outlets in recent weeks. On Tuesday, she tweeted, “We’ve spent trillions on regime change wars while communities across our nation face a severe lack of resources and dire need.”

Latimer said, “Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has long been committed to peace and ending counterproductive, interventionist wars.”

Gabbard’s office had been quiet about the trip. On Monday, her office told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Gabbard would not be attending President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday because she would be on a “fact-finding trip abroad.” But her office didn’t respond to follow-up questions about where Gabbard was until Wednesday morning.

Latimer said the trip was approved by the House Ethics Committee and was not paid for by taxpayer dollars, but declined to say who arranged or paid for the trip, citing security concerns.

When pressed, Latimer did say that President-elect Donald Trump, who Gabbard met with after the November election to discuss issues related to Syria, was “not aware or involved in the trip in any way.”

Politico reported Wednesday that congressional leaders were blindsided by Gabbard’s trip and weren’t given the customary advance warning.