Tulsi Gabbard: Bangladesh a “major area of concern” for the US

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has described the situation in Bangladesh as a “major area of concern” for the United States.

In an interview with NDTV World, published today, Gabbard said, “The longtime unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others have been a major area of concern for the US government, President Trump, and his administration.”

Gabbard also said that the new Cabinet under US President Donald Trump is initiating discussions with Bangladesh’s interim government.

“The talks are just beginning between President Trump’s new cabinet coming in and the Government of Bangladesh but this continues to remain a central focus area of concern,” she said.

Her comments come just a day after she attended a security conference in New Delhi, alongside Britain’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and New Zealand’s intelligence chief Andrew Hampton.

During the interview, Gabbard said, “The threat of Islamist terrorists, and their overall effort, the global effort of all of these different groups, are rooted in the same ideology and objective – which is to rule or govern with an Islamist Caliphate.

“This obviously affects people of any other religion, other than the one that they find acceptable, and they choose to carry this out with terror and very violent ways and means,” she remarked.

She further emphasized that US President Trump is committed to “identifying the ideology that drives Islamist terrorism and working to defeat this ideology and their ability to exact that terror on people.”