Tulsi Gabbard Under Attack From Neocons for Telling the Truth about Iran

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is receiving fire from neoconservative war hawks in the Republican Party for refusing to spread alarmism about the threat from Iran.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is receiving fire from neoconservative war hawks in the Republican Party for refusing to spread alarmism about the threat from Iran.

Speaking before the Senate Intelligence Committee last month, Gabbard stated that the intelligence community "continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003."

Her comments sent neoconservatives like radio host Mark Levin and failed presidential candidate Nikki Haley into a tizzy. They shared an op/ed in American Greatness written by former John Bolton chief of staff Fred Fleitz calling the intelligence reports referenced by Gabbard “stupid” and arguing for President George W. Bush’s aggressive Iran policy.

“Very important, please read to the end. Red flags are everywhere. Can't say we've not been warned,” Levin wrote while sharing the article on X.

“I raised alarm bells about this when she was nominated but you chose to attack me over it anyway. There is no room for Iranian sympathizers in the national security team of the US,” Haley wrote, taking it a step further by accusing Gabbard of being disloyal to the U.S.

These Bush-era leftovers are once again misleading the public about Iran in an attempt to draw America into a war. Remember that once upon a time, these same people claimed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in order to promulgate a basis for war with Iraq and were successful to the great detriment of the world. These same interests are trying to do the same with Iran, using the nuclear bogeyman as an excuse to ratchet up hostilities.

While Iran's actions should not be ignored by any means, the source claiming they are a major threat is not exactly credible. Neocons have been claiming that Iran is on the verge of creating a nuclear bomb for over twenty years. Their rationale is always that Iran is so close to nuclearization that America must take action now or calamitous circumstances will result, but their dire prognostications never quite materialize. Iran has been weakened over the years, particularly in the aftermath of Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, and their Islamic extremist government may falter on its own without direct American intervention.

A massive bombing campaign or invasion by the U.S. would be counter-productive and might backfire. This would give the Ayatollah something to rally the people against. If we were successful in conducting regime change, the people could rise up and demand something just as bad if not worse. Remember what happened when U.S.-allied forces propped up the Shah in 1953 and the blowback that ensued. Look at Syria and Libya for two recent examples of areas where U.S. and NATO intervention led to regime change and violent terrorist killers took control as a direct result.

The libel against Gabbard is absurd, similar to insults that Democrats have lobbed at her in the past. No Trump administration official is defending the Iranian regime. Their values are abhorrent and an affront to the American way of life, but imposing our values upon them with bombs and guns is not effective. The track record of U.S. military intervention has been a failure to all except the defense contractors who profit mightily from death and destruction. There is no reason to believe why a war with Iran would be any less catastrophic than the Afghanistan or Iraq wars.

The military-industrial complex and its neocon cheerleaders will use any pretext to drive the U.S. into conflict. Even though some of these voices have been removed from the Republican fold, certain prominent characters remain, camouflaging themselves as MAGA patriots in an attempt to push the same old Bush-era foreign policy that has failed. They will attempt to railroad Gabbard or any official in the Trump administration who authentically wants to put America first. They are receiving flak because they are over the target.

The Trump administration is a radical departure from establishment Republicanism on a myriad of issues, including foreign policy. Recent news that President Trump resisted the calls to launch a massive bombing campaign on Iran after listening to common sense from Gabbard and other quality appointments in his administration has rankled the neocons. Expect their attacks to ramp up against sane voices against unnecessary war in the White House orbit over the weeks to come. America First patriots must remain vigilant and repel neocon influence wherever necessary. The success of the MAGA movement ultimately depends upon it.