DUBAI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack has described peace in the Middle East as "an illusion," casting the region as locked in perpetual conflict and competing claims to legitimacy, in a wide-ranging interview with UAE daily The National.
"I don't trust anyone in the Middle East. Our interests are not aligned, including Israel," Barrack said in comments published Monday. "When we say peace, it's an illusion. There has never been peace. There will probably never be peace because everybody's fighting for legitimacy."
Barrack, who also serves as U.S. ambassador to Türkiye, said Israel "is attacking everybody," pointing to a fire on a Gaza-bound vessel in Tunisia that authorities there called a deliberate assault. "They attacked Tunisia," he said, invoking the incident to illustrate his point. The blaze hit the Family, the largest ship in the Global Sumud Flotilla, while it was docked near Tunis. Tunisia has opened an investigation. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
On Lebanon, Barrack argued that U.S. military assistance is intended for domestic stability rather than to counter Israel. "We're gonna arm them (the Lebanese army) so they can fight Israel? I don't think so," he said. "We are arming them so they can fight their own people."
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday strongly criticized Barrack's remarks, describing them as "unacceptable both in form and content."
Barrack's interview came days after Washington vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza -- the sixth such veto since the conflict began. "There have been 27 ceasefires. None of them work," Barrack said, while stressing that Israel remained a valued ally receiving billions of dollars in U.S. aid annually. Recognition of Palestinian statehood by Britain, France, and others, he added, was "useless" and unhelpful.
Commenting on Israel's Sept. 9 strike against Hamas officials in Doha, which provoked anger in the Gulf, Barrack said the attack "was not good" but had not harmed U.S.-Qatari relations. "Israel didn't tell us in advance. But Qatar has been a great and valued ally since day one," he said.
Barrack has stirred controversy before. At a press conference in Beirut last month, he told Lebanese reporters to "be quiet" and described their behavior as "animalistic," sparking condemnation from the country's journalists' union, which called the remarks "colonial arrogance." The Lebanese presidency later issued a statement of regret.
A billionaire investor and longtime ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, Barrack was sworn in earlier this year as U.S. ambassador to Türkiye and appointed Washington's special envoy for Syria. ■
