Foreign policy reset under Trump 2.0? Tulsi Gabbard says regime change era over; details new approach

The US national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, said on Friday that America’s earlier approach of "regime change or nation building" has ended under President Donald Trump.

She made the remarks at the Manama Dialogue, an annual security conference in Bahrain organised by the International Institute for Security Studies. Her comments match statements Trump made earlier this year during a visit to the Middle East.




"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 US 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, as quoted by AP: "The results: Trillions spent, countless lives lost and in many cases, the creation of greater security threats."

Her comments reflect Trump’s own view of the wars that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks. During his first term, Trump reached a deal to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, which led to a chaotic exit in 2021 under the Biden administration. Trump has also supported Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaida fighter who was once held in an American prison in Iraq.

However, Gabbard did not mention Trump’s deployment of US warships near South America, airstrikes that killed people on boats suspected of drug trafficking, or his instruction to the CIA to carry out covert operations targeting Venezuela, which raised concerns about a possible invasion and speculation that Trump may attempt to remove its president Nicolas Maduro

Gabbard said challenges still exist in the Middle East. She noted that the Gaza ceasefire is “fragile” and that Iran continues to be an issue, with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency reporting recent activity at Iranian nuclear facilities.

“The road ahead will not be simple or easy but the president is very committed down this road,” Gabbard said. She attended the forum while a US government shutdown continued.