Hindu congress woman and Hawaiian Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu elected to the Congress, has said that she had met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a secret, “fact-finding” trip to Syria and Lebanon. Gabbard’s office said that the army veteran had met Assad as well as Lebanon’s newly-elected President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
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“When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt that 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 is a possibility that we can achieve peace,” the Hawaiian congresswoman said.
Gabbard said that there is no possibility for a viable peace agreement in Syria unless Assad being part of the conversation. “Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact is that he is the President of Syria,” Gabbard said.
Her office has provided the photos and video of the congresswoman while on her trip, but not on the alleged meeting with Assad.
Gabbard said that her trip had further convinced her that the U.S. should stop aiding any rebels who are fighting against Assad in the war-torn country. She called the rebel groups as “terrorists”.
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“The U.S. must stop supporting terrorists who are destroying Syria and her people. The U.S. and other countries fuelling this war must stop immediately. We must allow the Syrian people to try to recover from this terrible war,” she said.
“We must end our war to overthrow the Syrian government and focus our attention on defeating Al Qaeda and ISIS,” she said.
“My visit to Syria has made it abundantly clear: Our counterproductive regime change war does not serve America’s interest and it certainly isn’t in the interest of the Syrian people,” Gabbard said.
“I return to Washington, D.C., with even greater resolve to end our illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government. I call upon Congress and the new administration to answer the pleas of the Syrian people immediately and support the Stop Arming Terrorists Act.”
By Premji
