The loose cannon on Trump’s deck
Tom Barrack, the American ambassador to Turkey and U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for Syria and Iraq, told an interviewer on Aug. 22 that Israel “still occupies the Golan against the U.N. resolutions, against all of the international order, which has said the Golan is Syria’s.”Yet the president Barrack serves recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan by proclamation in 2019, and that recognition remains American policy.Shortly after, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the remarks “full of inaccuracies,” and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) observed that the ambassador seemed to have forgotten his own president’s proclamation. Barrack quickly walked his statement back.Policy on the Golan, he told the Associated Press, was set by Trump in 2019 and is unchanged. His use of the word “occupation” described historical status, not the U.S. position.We’ve seen this cycle before. When The New York Times prints something outrageous and retracts it, it runs it in…
The article criticizes Tom Barrack, the American ambassador to Turkey and U.S. envoy for Syria and Iraq, for repeatedly making anti-Israel statements that contradict official U.S. policy. Barrack initially stated on August 22 that Israel "still occupies the Golan against the U.N. resolutions," despite President Trump's 2019 recognition of Israeli sovereignty. He later walked back this comment, claiming he was describing historical status, not current U.S. policy. Barrack also suggested that Hezbollah and Iran should be included in Israel-Lebanon negotiations, a statement he subsequently clarified. Additionally, he theorized that Israel struck Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase to benefit Prime Minister Netanyahu politically and described Ankara's leadership as "not predatory," despite Turkey's hostile actions towards Israel. The article suggests Barrack's actions stem from his long-standing ties to the Gulf region and his close relationship with President Trump, which seemingly exempt him from typical diplomatic discipline.
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