To borrow from The New York Times, Gabbard has long been "deeply skeptical of the effectiveness of U.S. military intervention abroad." Unfortunately, Gabbard applies this skepticism very selectively. In terms of the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, she's proven to be one of the more effective critics of U.S. militarism. But her support for Israel's destruction of the Gaza Strip and her frequent rationalizations of the Global War on Terror make her an unreliable ally at best and an opportunistic hypocrite at worst.

During an appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show in October 2015, Gabbard was critical of U.S. policy in Syria. Comparing American intervention in that region to both President George W. Bush's toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and President Barack Obama's removal of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Gabbard said:

"As the United States and others are focused on saying 'Assad must go,' if Assad is overthrown tomorrow, these Islamic extremist groups, who are united by one purpose, and that is to take over Syria, overrun the country, and present a greater threat, not only to the Middle East but to the world."

Gabbard also noted that, "You don't defeat your enemy by also simultaneously helping them at the same time. ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, all of these different groups are focused on removing Assad because they know that if he goes, they will be first ones in the door."

Granted, Gabbard's critique of the Obama administration's policy in Syria was more mission-oriented than it was focused on the inherent folly of American involvement in the region. While opposed to regime change, Gabbard has long defended the notion that the United States ought to wage war against radical Islamic terrorist groups. During her interview with Maddow, she faulted U.S. leaders with a "lack of focus on mission and who our enemy really is in Syria."

To her credit, Gabbard attacked the Obama administration for partnering with Islamic extremist groups like al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra in an effort to remove Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Unfortunately, Gabbard also faulted the administration for not replicating Russia's bombing campaign against those groups. Earlier that month, Gabbard posted a tweet criticizing that very reluctance to target al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra.