Gabbard, Schatz critical of airstrike

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who met in January with Syrian President Bashar Assad, criticized the U.S. airstrike of a Syrian air force base Thursday night.

“It angers and saddens me that President Trump has taken the advice of war hawks and escalated our illegal regime change war to overthrow the Syrian government,” Gabbard said in a written statement late Thursday. “This escalation is short-sighted and will lead to more dead civilians, more refugees, the strengthening of al-Qaeda and other terrorists, and a possible nuclear war between the United States and Russia.”

Gabbard met twice in January with Assad during a trip with her husband to Syria and Lebanon. The trip’s organizers have ties to a pro-Assad political party.

Gabbard was criticized for meeting with Assad, who has been implicated in war crimes by the United Nations. More than 400,000 have died in the Syrian civil war.

Gabbard told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in February that she thought it was important to meet with adversaries if there is any chance it will bring about peace.

“This administration has acted 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,” the congresswoman added Thursday.

“If President Assad is indeed guilty of this horrible chemical attack on innocent civilians, I will be the first to call for his prosecution and execution by the International Criminal Court,” she said. “However, because of our attack on Syria, this investigation may now not even be possible. And without such evidence, a successful prosecution will be much harder.”

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz also criticized the airstrike. He released the following statement: “The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons is abhorrent, but a military response is not the answer. The president has failed to articulate a strategy to end the Syrian civil war. A one-off strike may satisfy our desire to hold Assad accountable, but it risks deeper escalation without any sense of direction or objective. And unless this conflict ends, we will never defeat ISIL and prevent its return.

“Regardless, Congress must debate and authorize any escalation of U.S. military involvement against the Syria regime, as it is well beyond the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force,” he said.

“The United States must focus on leading a diplomatic effort among our partners and allies in the region to achieve a political solution that results in a post-Assad Syrian government that brings stability to the region.”