The American emissary Tom Barrack in Beirut, in July 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
American envoy Tom Barrack stated that the United States wants to "find solutions" to the crises in Lebanon and Syria, calling for "bringing closer and aligning" these two countries during a roundtable at the Doha Forum on a year of transition in Damascus.
During this event, which Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani attended, Barrack launched into a tirade reminiscent of some of his controversial statements in recent months regarding Syria and Lebanon.
He first asserted that the United States wants to "find solutions" to the crises in these two countries, taking into account the "problem" that nation-states were only created at the beginning of the 20th century, while civilizations in the region are based on the "tribal, family" model.
He nevertheless considered that there are now "good new leaderships" in Damascus and Beirut, since the fall of the Assad regime almost a year ago, and in Lebanon with the new mandate of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
At the end of September, Barrack made headlines and polarized social media after stating in New York that "there is no Middle East. There are only tribes."
"Nation-states were created by the British and French in 1916. But the Middle East doesn't work that way ... Everything starts with the individual, the family, the village, then the tribe, the community, the religion... finally, the nation," the American envoy told journalists.
Internet users were divided on these remarks, with some agreeing with the diplomat, himself of Lebanese origin, while others denounced a "simplistic" or even "colonialist" view.
Speaking again at the roundtable, Barrack said that it was necessary to "bring Lebanon and Syria closer, align these two ancient and beautiful civilizations."
Without going that far, these remarks recall the controversy he sparked in July when he said that "if Lebanon does not move, it will return to Bilad al-Sham," referring to the historical geographic term "Greater Syria," which encompassed present-day Syria and neighboring countries.
Barrack also stated at the Doha Forum on Sunday, regarding the ongoing tensions between Syria and Israel, whose talks are at a standstill due to Israeli claims, that progress must be made "in small steps." "We are going to have slowdowns, ongoing atrocities, dilemmas," he said.
The American envoy also emphasized, regarding Syria's future, that Syrians need to be given "time and the opportunity to decide how to build their country." "Before addressing certain issues, such as the missing persons file," Syrians first need stability, he continued. "Democracy cannot be achieved in 12 months," he insisted.
