Gabbard: Syrian War Is ‘Illegal’ and ‘Counterproductive’ to Defeating ISIS

CUOMO: “All right. Now you are fighting this fight on this level but also a different one as well, that a little subtle but deserves attention. You’re saying the war against Bashar al Assad, the leader of Syria is illegal because no war was declared, which is something that's often ignored in political circles these days, but is also counterproductive to fighting ISIS. How so and what's going on with your bill to stop the Assad war funding?”
GABBARD: “Well, look, Chris, just recently Secretary Kerry said that we could defeat ISIS in three months if the civil war in Syria ended. I agree with him. This is why I’ve been so strongly advocating for us to end this illegal counter-productive was and to overthrowing the Syrian government of Assad. First, if we allow this to continue and this objective is reached, if Assad is overthrown, this will open up the door for ISIS and al Qaeda and these other groups to walk in the front door and increase their capabilities, their military capabilities, take ownership over all of Syria and present an even greater threat to the world. Secondly, we've got to look at the head-to-head conflict that is existsting right now between the U.S. and Russia, because of this focus on the overthrow of Assad. The United States is advocating for the overthrow of the Syrian government of Assad and Russia is working to maintain that government. That is putting us at a direct head-to-head conflict with Russia that could potentially lead to something very devastating, even a nuclear war or something of a world war consequence.”
CUOMO: “Keep us informed on what's happening with the bill. It certainly deserves debate in this current climate."