Would Tulsi be the intel community’s worst nightmare?

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This week we have seen the utter collapse of the Assad regime and the Baathist political ideology in Syria. This follows a year of crisis and turmoil in the Middle East and absolute uncertainty in the days ahead as power centers completely shift and foreign militaries, including the Turks, Israel, and the U.S. race to take advantage of the power vacuum and chaos that remains.

This is all happening as a new administration is poised to take over in January. Trump’s nominees for foreign policy and national security are certainly a mixed bag. But one, Tulsi Gabbard, who was nominated for Director of National Intelligence, seems to be igniting partisan fires like no other candidate. Interestingly, the Army reserve officer, former congresswoman and Iraq War veteran has been most prescient when it comes to US intervention in the Middle East. She has warned consistently about meddling in the politics of Syria, about taking sides in the internecine conflicts, and maintaining an aggressive military footprint inside the country. She to this day is drawing fire for her 2017 visit with Bashar Assad because in her words:

“ I did so because I felt that it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace…Whatever you think about President Assad, the fact is that he is the president of Syria. In order for any peace agreement, in order for any possibility of a viable peace agreement to occur there has to be a conversation with him.”

Nevertheless nearly 100 former national security officials penned a letter saying they were “alarmed” at her nomination and urged closed door hearings to go over her record, saying that following her trip to Syria, “Ms. Gabbard aligned herself with Russian and Syrian officials."

She has been called a traitor and a foreign agent by Democrats who want to tank her nomination. But more than 250 conservative military veterans responded Monday with their own letter, saying "Tulsi’s life exemplifies a rare blend of selflessness, courage, and leadership—qualities desperately needed to reform and strengthen our intelligence community," the signatories stated.

"We are appalled by the baseless attacks questioning Tulsi’s loyalty to our great nation. For over 20 years and across multiple combat deployments, Tulsi has risked her life to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people. These attacks insult not only her, but every one of us Veterans who have served our country."

Gabbard faces a hard road, but it is not difficult to see that she had been prescient in so many ways, as much of the American regime change wars of the last 40 years have come to destructive fruition just in the last few days. Today, the U.S. insists on keeping military forces in Syria to fight ISIS, a branch of the Islamists who Washington helped to create by its invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein 20 years ago.

Here to talk about Gabbard’s road to confirmation ahead and what is going on in Syria today is Lyle Goldstein, director of China policy for Defense Priorities and head of the China Initiative at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, and good friend of the show Michael Vlahos, who is a fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy and former Naval War College professor.