A US congresswoman made a rare secret visit to Syria as part of her effort toward ending the years-long conflict in the Middle Eastern nation, her office said Wednesday.
House Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran, made a fact-finding mission to the capital Damascus despite continued fighting in the war-torn country in contravention of a frail ceasefire.
“As an individual committed to doing all she can to promote and work for peace, she felt it was important to meet with a number of individuals and groups including religious leaders, humanitarian workers, refugees and government and community leaders,” said Gabbard spokeswoman Emily Latimer.
The exact dates of the trip were not provided for security reasons, but her office said she was currently in the Middle East.
The congresswoman from Hawaii met with US President-elect Donald Trump in November two weeks after his election victory to discuss Syria policy, raising speculation that the incoming commander in chief might consider her for a position at the Pentagon or State Department.
Gabbard said at the time that she shared with Trump “my grave concerns that escalating the war in Syria by implementing a so-called no fly/safe zone would be disastrous for the Syrian people, our country and the world.”
Gabbard, who often clashes with her own party on issues related to Syria, has long opposed a US policy of regime change there, arguing that the country would descend further into chaos should President Bashar Assad be ousted.
Latimer declined to say whether Gabbard met with Assad on her trip, which also included a stop in Lebanon.
On January 13, Gabbard introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act, which bars US taxpayer dollars from supporting organizations allied with or backing “terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda in their war to overthrow the Syrian government.”
The measure would prevent the US government from providing funds or weapons to groups seeking to overthrow the Assad regime, including the Levant Front and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
“Our limited resources should go toward rebuilding our communities here at home, not fueling more counterproductive regime-change wars abroad,” she said on the House floor as she urged her colleagues to “stop this madness.”
Source :Al Arabiya
GMT 14:10 2018 Friday ,07 December
Lithuania imposes sanctions on Russian citizens involved in Kerch Strait incidentGMT 11:53 2018 Tuesday ,30 October
Bodies of two Saudi sisters washed up near New York's Hudson RiverGMT 12:52 2018 Wednesday ,24 October
Lebanon's first all-female metal band shakes up male-dominated fieldGMT 13:44 2018 Friday ,12 October
Two Arab women bike around the Middle East in new Fox showGMT 07:12 2018 Tuesday ,02 October
Former Miss Iraq "threatened" after fellow Instagram star's murderGMT 18:46 2018 Monday ,17 September
FNC to participate in ‘Euro-Asian Women Forum’ in RussiaGMT 08:54 2018 Friday ,14 September
Supermodel Kate Moss felt pressured as a teen modelGMT 13:13 2018 Tuesday ,11 September
Swara Bhasker slams Vivek Agnihotri for abusive tweetMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor