Following his statement on the Golan Heights, even Trump has had enough of Barrack

Mazloum Abdi announced on Tuesday evening the disbandment of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led militia that was once an ally of the Americans in Syria. Behind the integration of Kurdish fighters into the new Damascus Armed Forces – a key step for Syria’s future unity and for the prestige of President Ahmed al Sharaa – lies one of the most controversial American diplomats in the Middle East today. A negotiator with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with al Sharaa in Syria, with Netanyahu in Israel, and with al Zaidi in Iraq, in Israel’s eyes Tom Barrack carries with him an original sin: that of being very – too – close to Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Kurds have also realised this over the past two years, Abdi foremost among them. When the SDF leader refused to negotiate directly with al Sharaa over the disbanding of his militias, he said he would only speak to Barrack. It was a miscalculation, because the American ambassador was quite clear: you have no choice; disband the SDF and join forces with Damascus, because we are about to leave and leave you to your own devices.

It cannot be easy to see the US ambassador to Turkey – a post which Barrack holds alongside that of special envoy to Syria – acting as a mediator in every diplomatic negotiation involving Israel. This unease on the part of the Jewish state has never been concealed or censored, and is now once again being voiced by Netanyahu’s government directly to the White House, where Donald Trump was regarded as Barrack’s true major backer. Perhaps one of the few in Washington.

However, the American diplomat’s situation has become increasingly precarious, particularly following the Israeli airstrike on 18 August against the Syrian base at Abu al-Duhur, where the IDF suspected an imminent deployment of Turkish military forces with al-Sharaa’s approval. Whilst Israel and Turkey exchanged vitriolic accusations over which of the two was violating Syrian sovereignty more severely from the south to the north of the country, Barrack, in a podcast interview, criticised the Jewish state for the raid in Syria, accusing it of encroaching into the south of the country itself. In criticising Israel, however, the US ambassador added that the IDF “still occupies” the Golan Heights, in violation of United Nations resolutions and “the entire international order which has established that the Golan belongs to Syria”. Although the diplomat’s statements did indeed reflect the position of the international community and the UN, they contradicted the stance of the US government, which in 2019 decided to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. The man who took credit for that – contested – move was none other than Trump, the very person who today slavishly follows Barrack’s advice on the Syrian issue. A few days after making those remarks, Barrack attempted to backtrack, stating that he was merely recalling the official legal framework, not the US position. The Israeli reaction, however, was furious. Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Barrack’s comment had been “full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict the stance of US President Trump himself regarding the Golan Heights”.

Yesterday, pro-Trump influencer Laura Loomer claimed that Barrack had been recalled to Washington for consultations. There has been no official confirmation of this, but Loomer spoke of a sharp reaction from the White House and the State Department following Barrack’s comments on the Golan Heights. “A source at the State Department told me: ‘We want him out so badly that we might as well hire packers to help him pack his belongings’”, wrote Loomer, who added that Barrack is “in a delicate situation with the Trump Administration and the US State Department” and that a source had confided in her that “there is concern that Barrack does not understand, or does not care to understand, the President’s foreign policy”.

The remark on the Golan Heights was not the first incongruous statement by the US ambassador regarding Israel. Last December, he had publicly expressed doubts about the Israeli democratic system: “We have never had a democracy [in the Middle East]. I do not see a democracy,” Barrack had said. “Israel may claim to be a democracy, but in this region, what has worked best – whether you like it or not – is a benevolent monarchy,” he added, referring to the need to leave Syria free to decide on its own most suitable institutional framework.

Yesterday, Israeli Minister Katz, wearing a bulletproof vest, chose to send another defiant message directly from Mount Hermon – deep within Syrian territory occupied by the IDF – to al-Sharaa and to those, such as Barrack, who accuse the Jewish state of occupying the Golan: “When you wake up in the morning in your palace in Damascus, look up towards Mount Hermon and you will see the Israel Defence Forces.” His words were echoed by Hikmat al Hijri, one of the spiritual leaders of the Druze community in Suwayda, the city in southern Syria which remains the only one to challenge al Sharaa’s authority and is very close to Israel. “We, as Druze, are an integral part of the State of Israel,” he said. “The time has come for something new to happen in the coming days. We are waiting.”