U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said Friday that Washington’s era of “regime change and nation building” in the Middle East is over, emphasizing President Donald Trump’s focus on economic prosperity and regional stability instead of democracy promotion and interventionist policies.
Tulsi Gabbard’s comments before the Manama Dialogue, an annual security summit in Bahrain put on by the International Institute for Security Studies, underline remarks Trump offered on a trip earlier this year to the Middle East.
In Trump’s second term, previous American goals of fostering human rights and democracy promotion in the region have been replaced by an emphasis on economic prosperity and regional stability. That includes securing a cease-fire that has halted Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, as well as forcing an end to Israel’s 12-day war on Iran after sending American bombers to attack Iranian nuclear sites.
"For decades, our foreign policy has been trapped in a counterproductive and endless cycle of regime change or nation building,” said Gabbard, a former Congresswoman from Hawaii and U.S. Army National Guard veteran.
"It was a one-size-fits-all approach, of toppling regimes, trying to impose our system of governance on others, intervene in conflicts that were barely understood and walk away with more enemies than allies.”
She added: "The results: Trillions spent, countless lives lost and in many cases, the creation of greater security threats.”
That assessment mirrors Trump’s own thinking about the wars that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York and Washington. He reached a deal in his first term to withdraw from Afghanistan, which in the Biden administration became a chaotic departure in 2021. Meanwhile, he’s embraced Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
But serious challenges remain, particularly in the Middle East. Gabbard noted in her brief remarks that the cease-fire in Gaza remained "fragile.” She also acknowledged Iran remained a concern as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said renewed movement has been detected recently at the country’s nuclear sites.
"The road ahead will not be simple or easy but the president is very committed down this road,” said Gabbard, who attended the event as a government shutdown grinds on back home.
