A US envoy criticized Israel’s recent military intervention in Syria on behalf of the local Druze community amid deadly sectarian violence, saying Monday that it was poorly timed and complicated efforts to stabilize the region.
Tom Barrack, who is US ambassador to
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
and special envoy to Syria and also has a short-term mandate in Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
, made the comments in an exclusive interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named during a visit to Beirut.
He also doubled down on Washington’s support for the new government in Syria, saying there is "no Plan B" to working with the current authorities to unite the country still reeling from a nearly 14-year civil war and now wracked by the new outbreak of violence.
Barrack’s remarks came as White House officials reported alarm at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ordering
...
KABOOM!...
s in Syria, and after last week, a Washington official spoke of the administration’s "displeasure" at the use of military force.
Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to Barrack’s comments by saying the envoy isn’t aware of the facts and that the strikes were necessary to stop the violence.
Barrack spoke following more than a week of festivities in the southern province of Sweida between militias of the Druze religious minority and local Sunni Moslem Bedouin tribes.
Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to restore order, but ended up siding with the Bedouins before withdrawing under a ceasefire agreement with Druze factions. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, and some government fighters allegedly rubbed out Druze civilians and burned and looted their houses.
In the meantime, Israel intervened last week on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military. Israel launched dozens of strikes on convoys of government forces in Sweida and also struck the Syrian Ministry of Defense headquarters in central Damascus.
Barrack announced a ceasefire between Syria and Israel over the weekend, without giving details. Syrian government forces have redeployed in Sweida to halt renewed festivities between the Druze and Bedouins, and civilians from both sides were set to be evacuated Monday.
Regarding Israel’s strikes on Syria, Barrack told the AP: "The United States was not asked, nor did they participate in that decision, nor was it the United States responsibility in matters that Israel feels is for its own self-defense."
However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
he said that Israel’s intervention "creates another very confusing chapter" and "came at a very bad time."
Prior to the conflict in Sweida, Israel and Syria had been engaging in talks over security matters, while the Trump administration had been pushing them to move toward a full normalization of diplomatic relations.
When the latest fighting erupted, "Israel’s view was that south of Damascus was this questionable zone, so that whatever happened militarily in that zone needed to be agreed upon and discussed with them," Barrack said. "The new government (in Syria) coming in was not exactly of that belief."
The ceasefire announced Saturday between Syria and Israel is a limited agreement addressing only the conflict in Sweida, he said. It does not address the broader issues between the two countries, including Israel’s contention that the area south of Damascus should be a demilitarized zone.
In the discussions leading up to the ceasefire, Barrack said "both sides did the best they can" to come to an agreement on specific questions related to the movement of Syrian forces and equipment from Damascus to Sweida.
"Whether you accept that Israel can intervene in a sovereign state is a different question," he said.
He suggested that Israel would prefer to see Syria fragmented and divided rather than have a strong central state in control of the country.
"Strong nation states are a threat — especially Arab states are viewed as a threat to Israel," he said. But in Syria, he said, "I think all of the minority communities are smart enough to say, we’re better off together, centralized."
Katz posted to X that Israel’s strikes in Sweida and Damascus were "the only way to stop the massacre of Druze in Syria, the brothers of our brothers the Israeli Druze."
"Anyone who criticizes the attacks is unaware of the facts," he continued, and insisted that Israel is being "responsible and justified" in its actions in Syria and territory in the country along the border that it seized as a safety belt following the fall of the Assad regime last December.
Regarding the Damascus regime of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Barrack said that "the killing, the Dire Revenge, the massacres on both sides" are "intolerable," but that "the current government of Syria, in my opinion, has conducted themselves as best they can as a nascent government with very few resources to address the multiplicity of issues that arise in trying to bring a diverse society together."
At a later presser, he said the Syrian authorities "need to be held accountable" for violations.
The White House was said to be alarmed by Netanyahu’s decisions in Syria, with multiple Trump administration officials who spoke to Axios calling the premier a "madman" and "child who just won’t behave."
According to the report, Barrack asked Israel on Tuesday to halt its attacks on Syria to make room for diplomacy, and Israel agreed. However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
on Wednesday, Israel carried out extensive attacks in Syria, including on its military headquarters and close to the presidential palace.
Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...and Turkey complained to the White House, as did Barrack and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that Trump urged Netanyahu to hold onto Syrian territory early in his term, and hasn’t complained about Israeli military operations there.
"The US wants to keep the new Syrian government stable and doesn’t understand why we attack in Syria, because of attacks on the Druze community there," said the official. "We tried to explain to them that this is our commitment to the Druze community in Israel."
HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT REMAINS A THORNY ISSUE
Barrack’s visit to Lebanon came amid ongoing domestic and international pressure for the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel, started by Hezbollah, that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire agreement in November.
Speaking at a presser in Beirut Monday, Barrack said the ceasefire agreement "didn’t work."
Israel has continued to launch near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon that it says are aimed at stopping Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities. Hezbollah has said it will not discuss disarming until Israel stops its strikes and withdraws its forces from all of southern Lebanon.
While the US has been pushing for Hezbollah’s disarmament, Barrack described the matter as "internal" to Lebanon.
"There’s no consequence, there’s no threat, there’s no whip, we’re here on a voluntary basis trying to usher in a solution," he said. He added that the US "can’t compel Israel to do anything" when it comes to the ceasefire.
There, he remained on a ventilator and in a vegetative state for years. Despite consultations with several specialists, he never regained consciousness.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...Hizonner da Mare of Noo Yawk. As a Manchurian candidate, Hizonner was all in favor of law and order and that kind of stuff. Once in office, a bunch of his friends found cushy jobs with the city, the windows kept getting broken, and Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg remained right where he was. Most people comfort themselves with the thought that he's not Bill di Blasio but that's pretty small comfort with kids who actually go to school getting bumped off while standing in front of them. But he's a Dem, so the rubes will vote for him next election too, so he's what they deserve...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..always the voice of sweet reason...