Bangladeshis impacted by terrorism; Trump committed to defeating threat: Tulsi Gabbard tells ANI

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has reiterated US President Donald Trump's commitment to defeating the threat of Islamist terrorism posing a direct threat to the American people. 

In an interview with ANI today (17 March), Gabbard said terrorism has been affecting people in Bangladesh, India, Syria, Israel and different parts of the Middle East. 

She noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also takes this threat seriously and added that the US and India will work together to try to identify and defeat that threat. 

Asked how the Trump administration would respond to terror attacks on India from Pakistan, Gabbard said, "President Trump, through his first administration in the presidency, and it continues now, has been very clear about his commitment to defeating this threat of Islamist terrorism that has unfortunately plagued us, and continues to pose a direct threat to the American people." 

"But, we see how it's been impacting people here in India, in Bangladesh, currently ongoing in Syria, Israel and different countries in the Middle East. 

"So this is a threat that I know [Indian] Prime Minister Modi also takes seriously and one where the leaders of our two countries will work together to try to identify and defeat that threat," she added. 

Asked about the dismantling of deep-state assets and whether the US was involved in India's regime change matters, Tulsi said professionals of the US intelligence were using intelligence-based chat networks to conduct a "highly unprofessional and sexually explicit conversation" for an extended period of time. 

The action violates the basic professionalism expected from US government employees and the trust that the people of the US need to have in intelligence professionals, she said.

She said she is committed to ensuring that the US intelligence community is focused on its core mission of securing the nation, seeking out the truth and reporting the truth so that US President Donald Trump can make the best informed decisions. 

"So, in my role as Director of National Intelligence, this is one area that is my singular priority when it comes to ensuring that our intelligence community is focused on its core mission of securing our country, seeking out the truth and reporting that truth so that our president can make the best informed decisions. 

"So, anything else that distracts from that, we want to get out of the way, whether it's these inappropriate chat rooms or the more serious threats that we've seen of the weaponization and politicization of our intelligence to undermine really the fabric of our democratic republic," she said.