Ilhan Omar: U.S. Strategy in Syria Taking ‘Cues’ from Russia, Turkey, Israel

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy to resolve the Syrian conflict is taking “cues” from Russia, Turkey, and Israel, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) argued during a House panel hearing Wednesday without acknowledging that the three countries stand on opposing sides of the more than eight-year-old war.

During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Omar told Ambassador James Jeffrey, the president’s special envoy for Syria engagement who was invited to testify:

It seems that the particular conflict in Syria is being birthed out of a need for the people to have freedom and to actualize democracy and I’m concerned that most of our cues right now [are] being taken from Russia, and Turkey, and Israel, and so I’m wondering if that’s sort of a counter message to what we say we are interested in achieving in Syria.

Jeffrey responded by saying the United Nations, backed by the United States, is committed to giving the Syrian people democracy “through free and fair elections monitored by the U.N., including the diaspora.”

“I believe Democracy should not be given, it should be earned by the people, and we should be in partnership with them,” the Minnesota Democrat followed up.

Omar suggested that Russia, Turkey, and Israel are influencing Trump’s Syrian strategy even though these countries do not coincide in their strategy with each other, making it impossible to appease all three.

WATCH: Dem lawmaker thanks Trump for pardon, says it came as a surprise amid re-election bid

State Department announces renaming USIP ‘Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace’

PA school faces fury after Muslim club’s pro-Palestinian display leaves Jewish students ‘shaken’

Haitian gang leader learns sentence for orchestrating kidnapping of 16 American missionaries

Illinois church Nativity shows baby Jesus zip-tied by ICE agents

GOP dismisses off-year races as Democrats eye 2026 Senate takeover

Trump to Yank SNAP Food Aid from Dem States Who Refuse to Share Data to Catch Fraudsters

Rep Nancy Mace slaps down early retirement rumor: ‘BIG FAT NO from me’

As Trump’s standoff with Maduro deepens, experts warn the next move may force a showdown

Federal Agents Flood New Orleans to Take Down Illegal Immigrant Robbers and Rapists

Dystopia: UK Woman Recalls Being Arrested by Multiple Officers for Hate Crime While She Was Naked, After Sending Harmless Text Message

Decomposed body found in Connecticut after standoff with man who opened fire at police

Adams issues orders blocking NYC from boycotting Israel as clash with Mamdani grows

US Institute of Peace officially renamed for Trump as White House moves to dismantle agency: ‘Congratulations’

Feds arrest felon illegal immigrant after seizing tens of millions in meth stashed in blackberries

Russia supports the Iranian-allied regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey backs the opposition. Although Moscow and Ankara have embarked on joint efforts to end the conflict, Turkey remains resolute in its support for Assad opposition forces.

The Russia-Turkey agreement late last year to push al-Qaeda-linked jihadis out of Syria’s Idlib region failed, with Moscow blaming Ankara for the lack of success. Now, the jihadis control most of Idlib and some of the surrounding areas — considered the last remaining rebel stronghold in Syria.

Israel has targeted assets on Syrian soil linked to Assad’s ally Iran. Iran considers Israel, which shares a border with Syria, to be its mortal enemy.

Democrat leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have defended Omar from bipartisan criticism over repeated antisemitic remarks.

In his written testimony, Ambassador Jeffrey condemned Russia and Iran for enabling Assad, noting that the Syrian regime has been able to re-conquer 60 percent of the war-ravaged country with the help of Moscow, Tehran, and Iranian proxies like Hezbollah.