A dispute between Israel and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, intensified this week after comments he made on the Golan Heights and Turkey’s role in Syria prompted criticism from Israeli officials and Trump allies who said his positions conflict with the president’s stated policy. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized Barrack following the comments, saying they were “full of inaccuracies” and included positions that “contradict the position of Trump himself regarding the Golan Heights.”
Conservative activist Laura Loomer also joined the criticism. Loomer, who maintains close and regular ties with Trump and is considered to have the president’s attention, pointed to the proclamation Trump signed in 2019 and called on Barrack to resign over what she described as a lack of understanding of US foreign policy. This was not the first time this week that Loomer criticized the envoy. Following Barrack’s condemnation of the Israeli strike on the Abu al-Duhur base in Syria, she wrote that “Tom Barrack is without a doubt one of the worst choices of the Trump administration,” adding: “He always sides with the bad guys.”
Loomer claimed that Turkey attempted to deploy advanced Russian air defense systems at bases in Syria ahead of a possible deployment of Turkish aircraft in the country. A source familiar with the details confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that Turkey is indeed seeking to deploy radar systems there and, in the future, air defense systems operated by Turkish soldiers.
Barrack, however, offered a nearly opposite assessment. He described the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as one that does not take an aggressive approach, said Ankara is not interested in a military confrontation with Israel, and described the Israeli strike on the Syrian base as an “unnecessary escalation.” According to Barrack, Turkey was not warned about the strike, and its aircraft could have been scrambled toward Israeli aircraft, a scenario that could have led to a direct confrontation between Israel and a NATO member. (Ed note: US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack is no friend to Israel, and has proved it before.) (Read More)
