In an appearance on “On the Record” on the Fox News Channel on Monday, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) reacted to the weekend’s events with ISIS and explained it was important in her view for leaders to recognize what is the motivating force behind ISIS actions.
“I think it’s important for us to learn what’s — from what’s happening here,” Gabbard said. “It’s important for the leaders of our country to recognize the opportunity that exists here. Number one, to look at the fact that this execution in Libya, the presence of ISIS continuing to grow in their strengthening and in their territory in Libya specifically would not have happened if our leaders, both in Congress from both parties and the administration had not organized amend led the charge to attack and overthrow Kaddafi. This goes to the core of the problem here. You and I have talked about this before. And that is we are not recognizing who our enemy is. And what is driving them and the result of that.”
Host Greta Van Susteren replied to Gabbard by pointing out that President Barack Obama has been reluctant to tie these atrocities committed by ISIS to the tenets of radical Islam.
“You are recognizing who it is,” Van Susteren said. “I’m recognizing who it is. Everybody is. It’s for some reason the president won’t recognize who it is. He is the commander-in-chief. So it’s a little bit of a problem we have you know, if our commander-in-chief won’t.”
Gabbard acknowledged it was troubling that Obama wasn’t willing to do so, as Van Susteren said. But she also took aim at her colleagues that were outspoken about the regime change in certain rogue countries like Libya and Syria, which she said is what has led to the rise of ISIS.
“Yes it’s mind-boggling and it’s troubling,” Gabbard added. “I would point to leaders in our Congress who were the leaders and drivers in this overthrow of Kaddafi in Libya, putting us in the position that we are in today. And these same people are also continuing to push for this same type of overthrow to occur in Syria, with Assad, which would, again, play out in the same way that we have seen. Not only in Libya, but also in Egypt as well as in Iraq. This is where the danger lies — is by not clearly identifying the enemy the ideology, radical Islamism that’s driving, we continue to find ourselves waging war against people we are not waging war against the United States.”
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