Gabbard: US attack on Syrian airfield ‘short-sighted,’ reckless

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) on Thursday ripped the Trump administration’s decision to launch an attack on a Syrian airfield as reckless and “short-sighted.”

“This administration has acted recklessly without care or consideration of the dire consequences of the United States attack on Syria without waiting for the collection of evidence from the scene of the chemical poisoning,” she said in a statement.

“It angers and saddens me that President Trump has taken the advice of war hawks and escalated our illegal regime change war to overthrow the Syrian government. This escalation is short-sighted and will lead to more dead civilians, more refugees, the strengthening of al-Qaeda and other terrorists, and a possible nuclear war between the United States and Russia.”

Gabbard’s statement came after U.S. warships in the Mediterranean launched nearly 60 missiles at a military airfield in Syria. The attack was in retaliation for a chemical attack in northern Syria earlier this week that killed more than 70 civilians, including children, according to The New York Times. 

{mosads}The administration of Syrian President Bashar Assad allegedly carried out the strike.

Gabbard stirred controversy in February after she made a trip to Syria and met with Assad. The Hawaii Democrat has insisted that the meeting was not planned and focused on peace efforts in the war-torn country.

Gabbard released a separate statement ahead of the missile strike on Thursday calling for an investigation into the attack in Syria and the eventual prosecution of Assad in the International Criminal Court. 

“A successful prosecution of Assad [at the International Criminal Court] will require collection of evidence from the scene of the incident, and I support the United Nation’s efforts in this regard,” she said in the statement. “Without such evidence, a successful prosecution is impossible.”