Tulsi Gabbard: Donald Trump's Order to Kill Qassem Soleimani Was Correct

Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's preferred candidate for managing the U.S. National Intelligence Agency, described his decision during his first presidential term to kill Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on January 3, 2020, as 'correct.' Gabbard, who participated in a Senate confirmation hearing for her nomination as director of the National Intelligence Agency, responded to a question from Christian Gillibrand, a Democratic senator from New York, regarding her previous criticism of Soleimani's killing and calling it 'illegal,' stating, 'At that time, I did not have access to all the information regarding the attack, and my concern was that this action would escalate tensions.' She added, 'No tensions arose afterward, and his [Trump's] policies toward Iran were very effective for our national security.' In response to another question from Senator Gillibrand about the removal of security protection for officials involved in this attack, such as then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, by Donald Trump, the President of the United States, she said she could not comment without looking at intelligence assessments and threat evaluations in this regard. Moments earlier, in response to a question from James Lankford, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, regarding the killing of Qassem Soleimani, she stated that if confirmed, she would ensure that the President of the United States has access to all analyses and impartial reports from this agency to make the best and most informed decisions. Gabbard added that the potential consequences of all actions must also be communicated to the President and that her personal views would have no place in these assessments. In response to a question from Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, about whether she had ever knowingly met with any members, leaders, or affiliates of Hezbollah, she said, 'No, and that is a ridiculous accusation.' Gabbard stated that she personally paid for her trip to Syria and Lebanon in January 2017. She added that during her January 2017 meeting with Bashar al-Assad, she asked 'difficult' questions about his regime's actions, the use of chemical weapons, and the brutal tactics employed by that regime against the Syrian people. Several senators present at the hearing asked Gabbard about her previous statements defending Edward Snowden and her current position regarding Snowden, to which she replied that Edward Snowden violated U.S. law. After leaking information about the extensive surveillance operations of the National Security Agency, Snowden fled from the United States to Russia. He has been pursued by U.S. authorities for unlawfully disclosing this information and endangering national security. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, granted this former NSA contractor Russian citizenship in October 2022. Gabbard also stated that if confirmed as director of the National Intelligence Agency, she would work to prevent any leaks of this kind and that concerns of government employees and American citizens regarding government actions should be raised through legal channels. During Trump's first presidential term, in addition to eliminating Qassem Soleimani, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, and adopted a 'maximum pressure' policy against the Iranian government.