{"id":56563,"date":"2025-12-09T04:35:37","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=56563"},"modified":"2025-12-09T04:35:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:35:37","slug":"trump-envoy-ripped-for-claim-that-benevolent-monarchy-is-best-for-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/09\/trump-envoy-ripped-for-claim-that-benevolent-monarchy-is-best-for-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Envoy Ripped for Claim That \u2018Benevolent Monarchy\u2019 Is Best for Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tom Barrack, President Donald Trump\u2019s ambassador to <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/turkey\">Turkey<\/a> and special envoy for <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/syria\">Syria<\/a>, faced backlash Monday after arguing that US-backed Middle Eastern monarchies<em> \u2013 <\/em>most of which are ruled by prolific <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/human-rights\">human rights<\/a> violators<em> \u2013 <\/em>offer the best model for governing nations in the tumultuous region.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the Doha Forum in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/qatar\">Qatar<\/a> on Sunday, Barrack, who is also a billionaire real estate investor, cautioned against trying to impose democratic governance on the Middle East, noting that efforts to do so<em> \u2013 <\/em>sometimes by war or other military action\u2014have failed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time we intervene, whether it\u2019s in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/libya\">Libya<\/a>, Iraq, or any of the other places where we\u2019ve tried to create a colonized mandate, it has not been successful,\u201d he said. \u201cWe end up with paralysis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t see a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/democracy\">democracy<\/a>,\u201d Barrack said of the Middle East. \u201c<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/israel\">Israel<\/a> can claim to be a democracy, but in this region, whether you like it or not, what has worked best is, in fact, a benevolent monarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Addressing Syria\u2019s yearlong transition from longtime authoritarian rule under the Assad dynasty, Barrack added that the Syrian people must determine their political path \u201cwithout going in with Western expectations of, \u2018We want a democracy in 12 months.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">U.S. Envoy Sparks Controversy with Praise for Monarchies Over Democracies<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, stirred debate by saying, \u201cIsrael may call itself a democracy, but in this region, the system that has historically worked best\u2014whether you support it or not\u2014is a\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Vq3WX2Ytts\">pic.twitter.com\/Vq3WX2Ytts<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ME24 &#8211; Middle East 24 (@MiddleEast_24) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MiddleEast_24\/status\/1997659821542096936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 7, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>While Barrack\u2019s rejection of efforts to force democracy upon Middle Eastern countries drew praise, some Israelis bristled at what they claimed is the suggestion that their country is not a democracy, while other observers pushed back on the envoy\u2019s assertion regarding regional monarchies and use of what one Palestinian digital <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/media\">media<\/a> platform <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sahatenglish\/status\/1997945406966153488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> \u201cclassic colonial rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality on the ground is the opposite of his claim: It is the absence of democratic rights, accountable governance, and inclusive federal structures that has fueled Syria\u2019s fragmentation, empowered militias, and pushed communities toward separatism,\u201d Syrian Kurdish journalist Ronahi Hasan <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Ronahihasan\/status\/1997935460581011576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> on <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/social-media\">social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ronahi continued:<\/p>\n<p><em>When an American official undermines the universal principles the US itself claims to defend, it sends a dangerous message: that Syrians do not deserve the same political rights as others and that minority communities should simply accept centralized <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/authoritarianism\">authoritarianism<\/a> as their fate. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Syria doesn\u2019t need another foreign lecture romanticizing monarchy. It needs a political system that protects all its people \u2013 Druze, Alawite, Kurdish, Sunni, Christian \u2013 through genuine power-sharing, decentralization, and guarantees of equality.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederalism is not the problem,\u201d Ronahi added. \u201cThe problem is denying Syrians the right to shape their own future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><u><\/u>Abdirizak Mohamed, a lawmaker and former foreign minister in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/somalia\">Somalia<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AbdirizakOm\/status\/1998064320522113324\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> on social media: \u201cTom Barrack made public what is already known. The US labels dictators and monarchies benevolent when their behavior is aligned with US interest, and when their behavior isn\u2019t aligned with US interest they are despots. Labeling dictators benevolent is [an] oxymoron that shows US hypocrisy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For nearly a century, the US has supported Middle Eastern monarchies as successive administrations sought to gain and maintain control over the region\u2019s vast <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/oil\">oil<\/a> resources. This has often meant propping up monarchs in countries such as <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/saudi-arabia\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>, Iran (before 1979), the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/united-arab-emirates\">United Arab Emirates<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/bahrain\">Bahrain<\/a>, and Qatar\u2014regardless of their often horrific human rights records.<\/p>\n<p>While nothing new in terms of US policy and practice in the region, the Trump administration\u2019s <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-national-security-strategy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recently<\/a> published <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Security Strategy<\/a> prioritizes \u201cflexible realism\u201d over human rights and democracy and uses more candid language than past presidents have in explaining Washington\u2019s support for repressive monarchs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe [US] State Department will likely need to clarify whether Barrack\u2019s comments represent official policy or personal opinion,\u201d argued an <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/middleeast24.org\/u-s-envoy-controversially-favors-monarchies-over-democracies-in-middle-east\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">editorial<\/a> in <em>Middle East 24<\/em>. \u201cRegardless, his words have exposed an uncomfortable truth about US foreign policy in the Middle East: the persistent gap between democratic ideals and strategic realities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerhaps the most troubling aspect of this episode is what it reveals about American confidence in its own values,\u201d the editorial added. \u201cIf US diplomats no longer believe democracy can work in challenging environments, what does this say about America\u2019s faith in the universal appeal of its founding principles?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tom Barrack, President Donald Trump\u2019s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, faced backlash Monday after arguing that US-backed Middle Eastern monarchies \u2013 most of which are ruled by prolific human rights violators \u2013 offer the best model for governing nations in the tumultuous region. Speaking at the Doha Forum in Qatar on Sunday, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[806],"class_list":["post-56563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\u201cThe US labels dictators and monarchies benevolent when their behavior is aligned with US interest and when their behavior isn\u2019t aligned with US interest they are despots,\u201d said one critic. "},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56563"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56568,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56563\/revisions\/56568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56563"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=56563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}