A few days after the launch of Russia an unprovoked full-scale invasion In 2022, with Ukrainian missiles and artillery shells It is raining in Kyiv and in other cities, former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard released a disturbing video message.
“It is time to put geopolitics aside and accept the spirit of respect and love for the Ukrainian people by agreeing that Ukraine will be a neutral country, that is, no military alliance with NATO or Russia.” wrote the former Hawaii congressman on social media. Such an arrangement “will allow the people of Ukraine to live in peace.” May it be halal.”
Unlike his former colleagues in Congress and the leaders of Western democracies, Gabbard did not offer to condemn Russia or refer to the unprovoked nature of the attack.
For Gabbard’s critics, the video appeal represents an alarming pattern of support for Russia and other authoritarian regimes, raising questions about whether he should serve as such. A top American intelligence official. His choice upset lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, though most Republicans refrained from public criticism.
If confirmed by the Senate as President-elect Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence (DNI), Gabbard will oversee 18 spy agencies and have the final say on what intelligence is delivered to the commander-in-chief.
The DNI’s job is to provide the president with as much unvarnished truth as the intelligence community can determine. But current and former intelligence officials fear Gabbard will refuse to pass on intelligence reports that don’t align with her or the president’s worldview.
“Will this trend translate into pressure on analysis to align with the administration’s policy goals?” one senior former intelligence official said. “We’ll see.”
Previous administrations clashed with the CIA and intelligence agencies over assessments that did not support their policy agendas or perceptions of a particular threat or adversary’s intentions. The George W. Bush administration was accused of gathering intelligence to support claims about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs.
However, Gabbard will present an unprecedented dilemma for US intelligence agencies – a senior official who does not share the basic views on which countries are America’s main enemies.
A former intelligence official said that the DNI’s job is “to define the world as it is, as opposed to defending the world you want.”
Former US intelligence officials and lawmakers are also concerned that Gabbard and the new Trump administration may decide to reduce intelligence sharing with Ukraine in an attempt to force Kiev to agree to a peace deal.
Such a move would be devastating to Ukraine’s war effort, which is heavily dependent on American intelligence. Trump and those he has chosen to serve in his administration have expressed skepticism about continuing large-scale military aid to Ukraine, but have stopped short of saying they plan to withhold intelligence from Kiev.
Gabbard has denied accusations that she is a mouthpiece for Russia or the Syrian regime and has portrayed herself as a target of interventionist hawks seeking to silence her. His office did not respond to a request for comment.
during his campaign Gabbard, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, told an audience in New Hampshire that she would be willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to avoid conflict. But he said America’s political culture is hostile to the idea of diplomacy.
“I think it’s dangerous for us to be in a place where our media culture and our political culture openly and comprehensively criticizes diplomacy,” Gabbard said. “This is one of the reasons why we find ourselves in a constant state of regime change wars.”
But lawmakers and former intelligence officials say some of his comments and a secret trip to meet with Syria’s Assad in 2017 cast doubt on his judgment and raise questions about whether he is inclined to make excuses for foreign enemies.
Gabbard’s past comments on Russia and Syria show him to be “someone with a penchant for conspiracy, with a penchant for disparaging factual information,” another former senior intelligence official said.
Gabbard wrote on social media about US “biolaboratories” in Ukraine and called it dangerous. But his critics say his post closely echoes Russian disinformation, which falsely claims the presence of American biological weapons labs in Ukraine. In fact, Washington supported Ukraine’s civilian biological research labs to promote public health, not weapons labs.
Gabbard later tried to “clarify” her statements, saying she was referring only to bioresearch, not weapons labs.
Trump’s selection of Gabbard for DNI, as well as Attorney General Matt Gaetz, who has vowed to go after enemies of the new administration, has caused consternation and alarm among some in the intelligence community, current and former officials said. But most scouts will wait and see how the new leadership performs and root for them to succeed, they said.
“They’re going to cross the line,” said a former intelligence officer. “Their goals will be to make sure these new leaders are well informed, well informed and understand the complexities.”
He added: “I think all they’re going to ask is for their analysis to be presented to the president.”
As director of national intelligence, Gabbard will oversee the budget of America’s powerful intelligence agencies, decide what material is declassified and manage the president’s daily intelligence briefing. The director usually attends the president’s briefing in person.
However, Gabbard would not have authority over covert operations and America’s espionage network. These activities belong to the CIA.
The Hawaiian is accused of colluding with autocrats including Putin, Assad and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He met Sissi during a visit to Cairo in 2015 and praised her for her “great courage and leadership” in the fight against “extreme Islamist ideology”. Two years ago, Sisi led deadly attacks on protesters that left hundreds dead.
Gabbard also has friendly relations with India’s nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his supporters in the United States. The Modi government has faced criticism from human rights organizations and Western countries for its treatment of India’s Muslim minority. The former congressman received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from prominent pro-Modi expats affiliated with far-right Hindu nationalist organizations in the United States.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he had “deep questions about where his loyalties lie” and his “long-standing affinity” with autocrats and US enemies.
“We’re getting a lot of intelligence from our allies, and I would worry about a chilling effect there,” Crow told NBC News.
He said he was particularly concerned that other members of the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance – the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – might not want to share sensitive information “because they are worried about the sources and methods being protected or what will happen to that intelligence”.