By Benjamin Fearnow
Media Reporter
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Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard demanded U.S. forces be immediately withdrawn from Iraq and Syria, declaring there can be "no American victory" in the Middle East.
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate ridiculed President Donald Trump's "short-sighted" attack early Friday that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad and prompted reports the U.S. is sending 3,000 more troops to the region. Gabbard, who served in the U.S. military, blasted Trump for conducting an "act of war" without authorization from Congress.
In a series of videos posted to social media this weekend, Gabbard questioned the Trump administration and Pentagon, asking: "What's the end goal?"
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Gabbard has long touted anti-interventionist foreign policy in addition to urging the Trump administration to stay out of the ongoing Syrian civil war.
"Trump's actions last night in bombing the Baghdad airport with the targeted killing of Iran's top military general was an act of war -- with no authorization or declaration of war from Congress," Gabbard said in a video posted to Twitter. "He has put us in a state of war with Iran and seriously escalated this tat for tat conflict, pushing us deeper into an endless quagmire. So the question is: What's the end goal? What are we trying to achieve here?"
"We need to get out of Iraq and Syria now. That is the only way that we're going to prevent ourselves from being dragged into this quagmire, deeper and deeper into a war with Iran. #StandWithTulsi #TulsiWasRight," Gabbard tweeted Sunday morning.
The Defense Department on Friday confirmed reports of U.S. troop escalation in the region. Just days before the airstrike which killed Soleimani at the Baghdad airport, Trump ordered 1,000 Army airborne and Marines into Iraq amid violent protests led by Iranian-backed militia members outside the U.S. embassy, the Associated Press reported.
Gabbard's anti-war sentiment and opposition to unilateral military action has been echoed by several other top Democratic congressional leaders including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. "I think it was a reckless decision that increased the risk to Americans all around the world. I think it's going to increase the risk of war with Iran," he told CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday morning.
Speaking on Fox & Friends Sunday morning, former Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee described Schiff and other congressional Democrats as "crazy." He claimed Schiff would have held a "press conference" if Trump had informed him ahead of time about the drone strike that killed Soleimani.
Gabbard maintained her anti-interventionist platform on social media over the weekend.
"How many more American lives, how many more trillions of dollars will be wasted before we exit? It could be now, or it could be 10 or 20 years from now, but there is no American victory. #StandWithTulsi #NoWarWithIran," she remarked on Twitter Saturday. "Trump's policies are short-sighted, damaging and undermining our national security. We need to get out of Iraq and Syria. Bring our troops home," Gabbard said, adding this is the only way to prevent being "dragged deeper and deeper" into another endless war.
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