American ambassadors are supposed to defend American policy in the countries they serve, not defend host countries against American policy. Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and envoy for Syria, seems to need a reminder, the US newspaper giant notes. The article notes that our man in Istanbul seems to be taking some unusual positions for an American envoy.

Within 30 minutes at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum on Friday, Tom Barak managed to discourage democracy in the Middle East, promote cooperation with Hezbollah, mock the ceasefire in Lebanon, call for Iran's participation in talks on Lebanon, downplay Turkey's purchase of Russian anti-aircraft systems, and threaten Israel on Ankara's behalf.

On each of these points, Barak undermines American policy. Iran has no place in Lebanese affairs, and President Trump has made efforts to distance Tehran from the ceasefire in the country.

“We need a path with Hezbollah,” Barak declared, “and that path cannot be its disappearance.” The terrorist organization, he said, “is also a political organization,” noting that its political goal is to advance Iran’s Islamic Revolution. At the same time, he effectively absolved Beirut of responsibility, claiming that Sunnis in the Lebanese armed forces “will not shoot their [Shiite] relatives” in Hezbollah.

With such statements, why should Lebanon take American pressure to disarm Hezbollah seriously? Barak instead proposes “fundamental prosperity,” which seems unlikely when a fully equipped Hezbollah can drag the country into devastating wars whenever it or Iran wants.

Equating Israel and Hezbollah as “equally unreliable,” Barak downplayed the U.S.-brokered ceasefires, an analysis he said applied to both the 2024 agreement and the recent one. “It says we have a ceasefire unless we, Israel, judge that we are under attack. Is this a ceasefire?” he asked, implying that Israel should not be able to strike at terrorist threats.

Barak supported the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, separating the issue from the purchase of Russian S-400 systems, despite US objections. He also compared the case to the Greek S-300 systems, which were purchased in the 1990s in the context of the Cyprus crisis, long before the relevant US sanctions came into effect.

An opposition leader in Turkey has declared Barak "persona non grata" after he supported Middle Eastern "benevolent monarchies" over democracy, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to imprison his main rival with sentences of up to 2,000 years in prison.

These are extremely sensitive issues, in which such interventions carry risks. As early as January, Barak's mismanagement of the issue of ISIS prisoners in Syria was highlighted, when he abandoned the American Kurdish allies guarding them, resulting in the need for American military intervention.

In July, Reuters reported that his opposition to the federal nature of Syria gave President Ahmed al-Sharaa the impression that he had a “green light” from the US to deploy forces in Druze areas. Druze deaths and Israeli attacks in retaliation followed.

Asked about Israel's concerns about Turkey, Tom Barak warned Israel not to provoke: “Turkey is not a country to be played with,” he said. Perhaps it would be better to advise Erdogan to stop praising Hamas.

In the region, he also argued that “nobody has a problem with Jews,” but only with Zionism, “a matter of definition,” as he put it. Which shows that even those who consider themselves “realists” may be wearing glasses.