Tulsi Gabbard’s take on Syria gets slammed as ‘dead wrong’ during Democratic debate

Tulsi Gabbard came under attack for her stances on Syria during Tuesday’s presidential debate, marring what needed to be a strong performance for the Hawaii congresswoman, who has struggled to gain traction in her bid for the presidency.

Gabbard has made her opposition to American “regime change” wars a cornerstone of her presidential bid, and for several years has accused the U.S. government of arming terrorist groups as part of an attempt to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But Joe Biden said Gabbard was mischaracterizing American foreign policy in Syria, and fellow veteran Pete Buttigieg called her analysis of the conflict “dead wrong.”

President Donald Trump last week ordered the withdrawal of troops from northern Syria, putting at risk the lives of Syria’s ethnic Kurds, who have been allies in the fight against the Islamic State, and comprising American strategic interests in the region.

Gabbard has argued that withdrawing troops from Syria needed to be done responsibly, and CNN moderator Anderson Cooper pressed her on how she would do that in light of the consequences the U.S. is now facing with Trump’s latest policy decisions.

Gabbard said the problems stemmed from the U.S. waging a regime change war in Syria and that Trump, politicians and the mainstream media had blood on their hands.

“The slaughter of the Kurds being done there by Turkey is yet another negative consequence of the regime change war that we have been waging in Syria,” said Gabbard. “Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hands, but so do many of the politicians in this country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media that have been championing and cheerleading this regime change war.”

Buttigieg sharply disagreed with Gabbard’s analysis.

“Well, respectfully, congresswoman, I think that is dead wrong. The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence; it’s a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal by this president of American allies and American values,” he said.

Biden also took issue with Gabbard’s response.

“With regard to regime change in Syria — that has not been the policy to change the regime. It has been to make sure the regime did not wipe out hundreds of thousands of innocent people,” said Biden.

Peaceful protests in 2011 that were part of a broader democratic movement across the Middle East quickly evolved into a devastating civil war in Syria that’s left several hundred thousand people dead. The U.S. provided limited support to rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.

Former President Barack Obama said during the end of his term that the conflict in Syria haunted him, but his administration struggled to devise effective strategies amid an increasingly complicated conflict.

Gabbard’s comments on Syria were also panned on Twitter.

Susan Glasser, a staff writer for The New Yorker and global affairs analyst for CNN, tweeted, “How odd to listen to Tulsi Gabbard mouthing Syrian and Russian talking points on the Democratic debate stage … sorry but no one thinks US troops withdrawn by Trump were there as part of a ‘regime change war’ by the US. It’s as untruthful as anything from POTUS.”

Gabbard, who is at risk of not qualifying for the next Democratic primary debate in November, also tried to take swipes at Elizabeth Warren, who is increasingly seen as a front-runner in the race. At one point she turned to Warren and asked her whether she would join her in calling for an end to “this regime change war in Syria.”

Warren said she didn’t think the U.S. should have troops in the Middle East, but that removing them needed to be done the “right way, the smart way.” Gabbard later tried to question Warren about her qualifications to be commander in chief, but a moderator cut her off.

Gabbard scored only about eight minutes of speaking time during the debate, beating out Tom Steyer, a billionaire businessman. She took part of the time to slam The New York Times and CNN, which moderated the debate. Gabbard has criticized the media throughout her presidential bid.

The “New York Times and CNN have smeared veterans like myself for calling for an end to this regime change war,” said Gabbard. “Just two days ago The New York Times put out an article saying that I’m a Russian asset and Assad apologist and all these different smears. This morning a CNN commentator said on national television that I’m an asset of Russia. Completely despicable.”

The New York Times article that Gabbard referenced did not accuse her of being a Russian asset, but did point out that she had drawn support from Russian state media sources.

Political analyst Bakari Sellers, a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, called Gabbard “a puppet for the Russian government” during a CNN segment several hours before the debate.

Gabbard’s overall polling average has hovered around 1%, according to Real Clear Politics. She hasn’t said whether she plans to run for her congressional seat next year where she is facing a challenge by state Sen. Kai Kahele.

Kahele has raised about a half-million dollars for his congressional bid and as of the end of this month had about $370,000 in cash on hand, according to campaign financial reports filed Tuesday.

Gabbard raised about $3 million this quarter for her presidential bid and had about $2.1 million cash on hand. She can generally transfer those funds if she seeks to run for her House seat again.