Speaking on CNN on Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) argued that the United States was the cause of the attack on the Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia which the United States has said was launched by Iran. Referring to the tough sanctions placed on Iran by the United States, Gabbard stated, “This latest attack on Saudi Arabia is a retaliatory attack because of all the sanctions in place that are essentially blocking Iran from selling their oil on the market.”
Gabbard, whose history includes support for the Syrian regime that is allied with Iran, also attacked President Trump, claiming, “He is treating our troops as though we are something that can be pawned off or prostituted off to the highest bidder.”
The exchange prompting Gabbard’s claim that the U.S. caused Iran to launch their attack started with the CNN host asking, “You’re running for president. If you were president right now, how would you deal with Iran?”
Gabbard answered:
I would see the situation for what it is, which is this latest attack on Saudi Arabia is a retaliatory attack because of all the sanctions in place that are essentially blocking Iran from selling their oil on the market. So by recognizing this is a retaliatory attack, that we cannot continue this cycle of retaliation that can only lead to an all-out inferno of a war, both in Iran and across the region that would be so costly and devastating that would make the war we served in in Iraq look like a picnic in comparison in lost American lives, trillions of taxpayer dollars, exacerbating already a terrible refugee crisis. This is not serving the interests of our people nor is it serving the interests of our national security. As president right now what I would do is re-enter the Iran nuclear agreement, take away those — those sanctions that have been put in place so that Iran is brought back into an agreement where they are complying. We have inspectors going in — because every single day this doesn’t happen, Iran is moving forward towards developing a nuclear weapon.”
The CNN host then referred to Gabbard’s remarks on September 16 in which she tweeted at Trump, “Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country—Saudi Arabia—is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp.”
.@realDonaldTrump Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country—Saudi Arabia—is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp. pic.twitter.com/Cu1OewEMOC
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) September 16, 2019
The CNN host asked, “Do you regret the “Pence and prostitute language?”
Gabbard boasted:
Not at all. That is exactly what Trump is doing. He is treating our troops as though we are something that can be pawned off or prostituted off to the highest bidder. Our troops deploying now to Saudi Arabia at his direction are not there serving the interests of the American people or our own national security. In his administration’s own words they are going to protect Saudi Arabia’s oil, Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure protecting them, which undermines the whole reason why we take this oath willing to lay our lives down for our country and he is sending them to protect a country that is allied with our enemy, Al Qaeda.