Under the watchful eyes of the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, the Israeli-Turkish-Syrian triangle has become far more perilous in recent weeks, so much so that the U.S. is seeking to set up a deconfliction mechanism to avoid a significant conflagration. So, what’s really going on? And what needs to change?

What Everyone Wants

To understand each country’s actions, one must first understand what they want.

Syria’s regime, presently run by a “former” (?) Islamist terrorist, wants to stay in power, but also to oppress local minorities at whim.

Turkey wants to recreate the Ottoman empire, of sorts, and to that end, seeks a military foothold in Syria. Oh, Ankara also wants the destruction of the Jewish state.

Israelis simply want to live, and to do so in peace and security; that hasn’t changed. They also want to see their northern neighbors - many of whom come from the Druze faith and have family in the fervently Zionist Druze-Israeli population – live in peace and security. 

You see the problem…

What Everyone’s Doing

Israel’s doing what it always does: exactly that which is necessary to prevent their neighbors from threatening and/or engaging in massacres. To that end, the Israelis wiped out Syria’s most dangerous weapons (e.g. their Air Force) as the Assad regime fell.

When the current regime started massacring Druze, the Israelis defended the communities and have taken up a handful of high-ground defensive positions inside southern Syria. And most recently, when Ankara began plans to bolster its presence in Syria, Israel destroyed part of a key northern airbase.

Turkey, which continues to host, finance, and express public support for Palestinian terrorists, wants to conquer, so to speak, the immediate region through hegemony. One of the methods for achieving this goal is to setup client states, which Syria, in its weak position, is ripe to become.

So, Turkey is seeking to build up its military presence there, both to bring Damascus increasingly under Ankara’s thumb, and to begin setting up bases of operations for what Erdogan and Fidan hope will become an eventual war with Israel.

The regime in Syria is treading just hard enough to keep its head above water. They are consolidating internal armed forces, and, due to Israeli military action, have largely ceased engaging in the slaughter of minority Syrians, such as the local Druze. But ultimately, the guy in charge and the people who put him there are Islamic supremacists. There’s an old Arabian proverb that comes to mind: “My brother and I against our cousin. My cousin and I against the stranger.”

That’s what Damascus was doing, for all practical purposes, in its relationships with their Turkish cousins and their Jewish neighbors.  But what the aforementioned commentary misses is that sometimes the stranger is strong. Israel’s actions have resulted in Syria sending a delegation to meet with Israelis in Jordan.

With Syria, they may not change their attitude but may be able to curb their worst inclinations – and it appears that’s what Israeli is achieving.

Not the Right Man for the Job

With Turkey, there’s a different story. The Turks are being misled into believing they’re being taken seriously by the Trump administration. President Trump’s accolades – and credit where its due, he is “effusive with his praise” – are far more highly regarded by the recipients than the provider.

Moreover, it’s become clear that the positions of The Honorable Thomas J. Barrack Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, are not the positions of President Donald J. Trump.

For example, Barrack Jr. cannot just willy nilly decide that the U.S. does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Nor can he just decide on his own that Ankara’s support for terrorism and Damascus’s engagement in terrorism is irrelevant to U.S. foreign policy.

One wonders upon what Barrack Jr. is focused upon. Well, turns out there’s an answer.

A few years back, Turkey decided it didn’t want to be compared to the bird of Thanksgiving fame(infamy?) anymore and officially changed its name to Türkiye. 

Despite the fact that no one really uses that, being the dutiful diplomat (we’re sure he would argue), Barrack Jr. makes a point of doing so. Good for him. He may sound ridiculous, but it’s for a good cause.

But consider this: outside of his gaffes, the poor state of his area of responsibility, and his astoundingly impressive title, the most memorable thing about the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and U.S. Special Envoy for Syria is the way he says Turkey.

Moreover, Barrack Jr. seems to have ceased advocating for U.S. policy in Ankara and has instead started advocating for Türkiye’s position in Washington. Given what he says in public, one dares not imagine what he says when no one, save the former intelligence chief turned top Turkish diplomat Hakeen Fidan, is listening.

It’s past time for a new U.S. Ambassador to Turkey/Türkiye.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund