Former American Strategy Of ‘Regime Change’ Is Over: Tulsi Gabbard

The U.S. national intelligence director told officials in the Middle East on Friday that America’s earlier strategy of “regime change or nation building” had come to an end under President Donald Trump.

Tulsi Gabbard’s remarks at the Manama Dialogue—an annual security summit in Bahrain organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies—echoed Trump’s statements from his visit to the region earlier this year, according to an AP report.

During Trump’s second term, Washington’s previous goals of promoting human rights and democracy in the Middle East have shifted toward a focus on economic prosperity and regional stability. This includes brokering a ceasefire that stopped the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip and ending Israel’s 12-day war on Iran following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

“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—toppling regimes, trying to impose our system of governance on others, intervening in conflicts barely understood, and walking away with more enemies than allies,” she added. “The results: trillions spent, countless lives lost, and in many cases, the creation of even greater security threats.”

Her assessment reflects Trump’s own stance on the wars that followed the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. In his first term, Trump negotiated a deal to withdraw from Afghanistan, which culminated in a chaotic exit under the Biden administration in 2021. Meanwhile, he has extended support to Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda fighter once imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq.

Gabbard did not mention Trump’s deployment of warships off South America, fatal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, or CIA covert operations against Venezuela—moves that fueled fears of invasion and speculation that Trump might seek to oust the country’s authoritarian leader.

Despite these challenges, Gabbard noted that the ceasefire in Gaza remains “fragile,” and Iran continues to pose concerns as the International Atomic Energy Agency recently detected renewed activity at Iranian nuclear sites.

“The road ahead will not be simple or easy, but the president is deeply committed to this path,” said Gabbard, attending the summit amid an ongoing government shutdown in Washington.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press journalist accredited to cover the conference had their visa abruptly revoked by Bahrain’s government late Wednesday, citing a “post-approval review.” The authorities offered no explanation, though earlier that day the AP had published a report on detained activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja beginning an “open-ended” hunger strike over his internationally condemned imprisonment.

Al-Khawaja ended his hunger strike late Friday after receiving letters from the European Union and Denmark regarding his case, his daughter Maryam al-Khawaja said.