Trump’s new intel director Tulsi Gabbard’s radical, worrisome comments about Türkiye
This combination of pictures shows US President-elect Donald Trump (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024 and newly elect Intel Director Tulsi Gabbard (R). (AFP Photo)
As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump swiftly began assembling his cabinet, he selected Tulsi Gabbard to become the new Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Nov. 13, a move that has sparked criticism due to her previous remarks on Türkiye.
Despite Türkiye’s vicious fight against Daesh (also referred to as ISIS) in Syria, Gabbard disseminated conspiracy theories accusing Türkiye of supporting Daesh in the region.
Gabbard served in America’s invasion of Iraq
Gabbard was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Hawaii of the Democratic Party. She ran for an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2020, left the Democratic Party in 2022, and eventually became an open Republican in the lead-up to Trump’s 2024 election.
She is a member of the U.S. Army and served in the American invasion of Iraq between 2004 and 2005. Over 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the “Iraq War” beginning in 2003.
Gabbard, Trump’s pick for the National Intelligence Director, has stirred numerous commentaries in Türkiye.
Turkish social media users, especially on X (formerly Twitter), were quick to highlight several troubling comments Gabbard had previously made.
In October 2019, Gabbard commented: “(President) Erdogan denied this for years, but the fact that he is now openly and brazenly creating militias of radical Islamists, including so-called former Daesh and Al-Qaeda terrorists, exposes him for what he is; he is a radical Islamist megalomaniac whose goal is to establish an Islamist caliphate with himself as the Caliph.”
Gabbard’s comments on US policy in Syria
Gabbard made these comments following a Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria to fight terrorist groups. The first incursion, which occurred in August 2016.
The incursion into Syria happened immediately after a failed July 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye, which saw over 250 lives perish, with strong allegations of having Washington’s support.
Despite the United States and Türkiye being members of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO), the U.S. in 2015 charted its course in Syria without little to no consideration of ally Türkiye.
Gabbard’s claims about Türkiye
Gabbard also commented on October 2023, that Ankara’s viewpoint of Hamas being a liberation organization is somehow compared with Türkiye’s nonexistent support for terrorist organization Daesh.
Türkiye has eliminated over 3,000 Daesh members in Syria.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has directly funded and supported the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza with over 50,000 Palestinians dead in just over a year of non-stop bombardment.
Critics argue that Gabbard’s past comments could strain U.S.-Türkiye relations further, as Trump’s cabinet gains more hawkish members.
With hawks joining Trump’s cabinet, baseless comments risk deepening Washington’s isolation in global politics.
The Turkish president said the other day that he was closely following Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments and that relations could be shaped accordingly. “The future of our relations with the United States in the new term cannot be shaped by telephone diplomacy alone,” Erdogan maintained.
“At this stage, we need to see how (Mr.) Trump’s cabinet will be formed and who will be included. His cabinet members will have meetings with my colleagues, and through these interactions, they will get to know each other better, and we will take steps accordingly,” President Erdogan stated recently.
Previously running on a ticket of peace and flipping from the Democratic Party to the Republican, however, indicates that her stances can change.
She previously criticized Trump because of his relations with Erdogan.
President-elect Trump previously indicated an American foreign policy more focused on diplomacy and a priority over addressing domestic concerns. And he has mentioned fostering good relations with Türkiye.
As Trump’s cabinet takes shape day by day, the first impressions are that Türkiye-U.S. relations will not be easy during Trump’s term and that there may be controversial periods between both countries.
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