US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in an interview during her India visit, discussed US-India intelligence sharing, trade relations, and countering terrorism. She emphasized the Trump administration's commitment to defeating Islamist terrorism and strengthening US-India partnership. Gabbard also addressed recent controversies in US intelligence and spoke about her Hindu faith's role in her career.
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00:00Right, we have a special interview coming in. Tulsi Gabbard, the Intel Chief of USA,
00:04has met Rajnath Singh. Here, the interview coming in.
00:08Thank you for having you here and very happy that India is one of your first ports of call
00:12after you resumed office. You've had your meetings with Mr. Doval and the other interns ours.
00:19Can you tell us a little bit about the scope of intelligence sharing between India and the US?
00:25Of course. Well, first of all, it's wonderful to be back in India. Really, the tone and the
00:32relationship with our new administration under President Trump and Prime Minister Modi was set
00:38during Prime Minister Modi's visit to the White House. As you know, they are already good friends.
00:44It was a very great opportunity for them to share their joint vision for the US-India
00:50partnership and the opportunity for us to continue to strengthen that partnership.
00:54The meetings that I've had here with different Indian government officials and intelligence
01:00officials really is set on that foundation of how we can continue to integrate, how we can
01:07continue to strengthen our relationship, not only, of course, in my area of intelligence,
01:12but we're looking at commerce and trade and defense and education. There's nothing but
01:18opportunity that I see here in the US-India partnership. Well, you spoke about commerce
01:24and trade. Of course, there's a lot of anxiety among Indians about the tariff regime. Could you
01:29tell us which way that's headed? And in the pecking order of the US-India relationship
01:35priorities, where does the tariff regime come in? You know, what I have heard from the Indian
01:40government officials that I've spoken to over the last few days, there is an opportunity here to see
01:47more potential for the strengthening of our economic relationship. And I'm glad to see that
01:54they're looking at it in a more positive light than just one that is focused in a negative way
01:58when we look at tariffs. Obviously, Prime Minister Modi is looking out for what is in the best
02:03interests of India's economy and the opportunities available for the people of India. Similarly,
02:10President Trump is doing the same for the United States, our economic interests and the interests
02:15of the American people. So what I see as a great positive is that we have two leaders who have
02:21common sense and who are looking for good solutions. This direct dialogue happening at the
02:27very top in both of our countries, but also at the different secretaries and the cabinet members,
02:33is going to be key to lay down what that path forward really looks like. And I personally am
02:39excited because there's keen interest in the private sector here in India and in the United
02:44States to seek out those opportunities and to maximize them. Ma'am, there's a lot of attention,
02:51of course, in the Asia-Pacific region for your visit here and the earlier port of call. I wanted
02:57to ask you, what is your assessment of the Chinese threat in the Asia-Pacific region? And do you see
03:04India as a key player to counter China? You know, I've grown up in Hawaii and I've spent a lot of
03:11time in different countries across the Indo-Pacific region. And so I understand at a deeply personal
03:16level the importance of this area for my country. And also, I think just as importantly in
03:23understanding the complexities that exist within the histories of each of these countries,
03:30India and China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, the United States, of course. So
03:36what I appreciate about President Trump and his approach and some comments that I heard Prime
03:42Minister Modi make recently is they are very practical and they are pragmatic and are looking
03:48to strike that balance that will allow us to hopefully prevent any kind of conflict. Obviously,
03:56as it relates to China, there are challenges. There are also opportunities. And we have two
04:03leaders of two very important countries who will play a very central role in taking on those
04:08challenges, resolving issues where they exist, and also maximizing any opportunities. The goal,
04:16of course, that we all share is to achieve peace, to increase prosperity, and to ensure stability
04:23and security for both of our peoples, but in the region as well.
04:28Ma'am, when you took over, there was a lot of attention to what people said that you were a
04:33sharp critic of US forever wars and regime change wars. But you also said, and I'm going to quote
04:39what you said, when it comes to the war against terrorists, I'm a hawk. How does the Trump
04:44administration see the repeated terror attacks on India from Pakistan?
04:50President Trump, through his first administration in the presidency, and it continues now,
04:55has been very clear about his commitment to defeating this threat of Islamist terrorism
05:01that has unfortunately plagued us, has and continues to pose a direct threat to the
05:06American people. But we see how it's been impacting people here in India, in Bangladesh,
05:13currently ongoing in Syria, Israel and different countries in the Middle East.
05:19So this is a threat that I know Prime Minister Modi also takes seriously,
05:23and one where the leaders of our two countries will work together to
05:27try to identify and defeat that threat.
05:31I'd like to pivot a little bit on the ICET initiatives. Do you see India and the US
05:37cooperating in the field of semiconductors and nuclear energy?
05:40Yeah, you know, I think there's not really any bounds to where the United States and
05:44India are looking to cooperate. And once again, we saw the initial vision and goals laid out
05:50by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in their joint statement that came from the
05:55meeting that they had there in the Oval Office at the White House. So there are a lot of
06:00different elements, of course, with the private sector, and with our respective agencies as it
06:06relates to commerce, to see where those opportunities are, to see where there may be
06:10barriers to access, and see how can we best, once again, strengthen our mutually economic
06:17interests by moving forward together.
06:19One question on dismantling of deep state assets that's being talked about a lot on
06:24social media. So I have a question on this. Everybody's watching that, especially the
06:31firing of US intelligence involved in inappropriate chats. I have to ask you, were they involved
06:38in regime change matters in India?
06:42I can tell you, to my knowledge, the answer is no. I think what you're referring to,
06:47unfortunately, was an incident that came to my attention, where for an extended period
06:54of time, we had intelligence professionals who were using an intelligence-based chat
07:01network to conduct highly unprofessional and sexually explicit conversation. This not only
07:10violates the basic professionalism that we expect of all of our government employees,
07:16but it really violates the trust specifically around those, the trust that the American
07:22people need to have in our intelligence professionals.
07:26So, you know, in my role as Director of National Intelligence, this is one area that is my
07:32singular priority when it comes to ensuring that our intelligence community is focused
07:37on its core mission of securing our country, seeking out the truth and reporting that truth
07:43so that our president can make the best informed decisions. So anything else that distracts
07:49away from that, we want to get out of the way, whether it's these inappropriate chat
07:55rooms or the more serious threats that we've seen of the weaponization and politicization
08:00of our intelligence to undermine really the fabric of our democratic republic.
08:07Ma'am, finally, I have to ask you as a combat veteran now in the C-suite of the intel community,
08:12you've broken several glass ceilings. How important was spirituality and being a Hindu?
08:18How has that helped you in being this, breaking all the glass ceilings?
08:23Well, my own personal spiritual practice, my personal relationship with God is the center
08:30of my life. And I do my very best every day to live a life that is pleasing to God. And
08:38what better way to do that and to do my best to be of service to all of God's children. And so
08:43in different times of my life, whether serving in war zones in different parts of the world,
08:48or the challenges that we face now, it is Krishna's teachings to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita
08:56that I turn to in the best of times and the worst of times and continuously learn critical lessons
09:04from Krishna to Arjuna that give me strength, that give me peace,
09:09that give me great comfort through all of the days.
09:14We don't have an intel chief who's a woman. You have broken that and you've given a lot of hope
09:20for young women, even in our country, to do that. But at the Senate, when that hearing was taking
09:27place, you said in that hearing, you said, I'm not a puppet. And I've been accused of being a
09:32puppet of Putin, of spiritual gurus, of Modi, everybody. That came as a shocker to even us
09:40at that time that you achieved so much in life that somebody could label you as a puppet.
09:46Was it really so surprising?
09:51You know, the unfortunate attacks that come from political opponents, they stoop to levels that
10:00are incredibly disrespectful. My focus, again, is on how I can best be of service,
10:08how and where I can make the most positive impact. And I'm grateful that President Trump
10:13has given me the opportunity to serve as Director of National Intelligence to continue what I have
10:19dedicated my life to, which is serving our country and working towards ensuring the safety, security
10:25and freedom of the American people. It's almost lunchtime, ma'am. So
10:29what Indian food would you like to eat today? Anything on your wish list?
10:33Oh, my gosh. Let me just say, I love so much about India. I always feel at home when I'm here.
10:40The people are so welcoming and kind. And the food is always delicious.
10:48The dal makhani and anything with fresh paneer is delicious.
10:54Thank you so much, ma'am, for giving us the time speaking to us and all the best to you
10:59for the next four years and for your visit to India.
11:01It's great to see you. Thank you so much.