Middle East & North Africa
US envoy Barrack: Israel is “way too smart” to start a real fight with Turkey – “What scares us all is the unintended accident”
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said in Doha that Israel is “way too smart” to start a real fight with Turkey, but warned of an “unintended accident” and questioned what the Mecca defence pact means for Turkey in Yemen.
“Israel is way too smart to actually start a real fight with Turkey, and Turkey is way too smart to succumb to the chatter of these threats.” That is what US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said on Tuesday, October 20, speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Qatar, according to the Turkish outlet Türkiye Today. “I don’t think Israel wants it, I know Turkey doesn’t,” he added.
“This is politics. Turkey and Israel had a honeymoon in the early 2000s. The trade balance was good. They got along well,” Barrack said. “I think we are in a very hard political situation, and most of this is just talk.” The American diplomat nevertheless warned: “What scares all of us is the unintended accident that can happen down that road.”
The Abu al-Duhur example
As an example he cited the Israeli strike on the Abu al-Duhur air base in Syria on August 18, “35 kilometres from Turkey.” “Turkey wasn’t told Israeli aircraft were coming. Neither were we. It could have been another Russian-type incident. Turkey could have very quickly scrambled its aircraft, and suddenly we would have been in another situation,” he said. On Israel’s operations in Syria he said: “It’s time for it to stop. I don’t know if it’s time for the US to step in to stop it.” Israel had denied Barrack’s account of the incident at the time.
The Mecca pact and Yemen
Barrack also referred to the Mecca defence pact, raising questions about Turkey’s role in Yemen: “What does it mean if Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, maybe Egypt, get into a situation like the one we have now with the Houthis? Does it mean Turkey will put boots on the ground with Saudi Arabia against the Houthis? That the US will send fighters? That Turkey will give free TB2 drones? Everybody is trying to figure it out.” Ankara has already said that it will not send troops to carry out attacks under the agreement.
The ambassador said President Donald Trump supports Saudi Arabia and will provide the logistical support it needs, but that “America getting involved in a ground fight somewhere else seems fruitless,” suggesting Saudi–Houthi talks mediated by Oman. On Iran he said “America wants a peace deal” and that the problem is a lack of trust: “The Revolutionary Guards don’t trust the US. The US doesn’t trust the Guards.” On X, Barrack thanked Qatar for its “steady intervention and mediation” in a post from the forum.