US Envoy Tom Barrack has played a key role in US policy in the Middle East over the past year. He was appointed Special Envoy to Syria last year. He is also the US Ambassador to Turkey.
The envoy to Syria helped shape US support for the new government of Ahmed al-Sharaa. Sharaa was introduced to US President Donald Trump in 2025, and Trump had decided the US would embrace Damascus.
As such, Barrack was handed a key role to help make this happen.
Barrack has been critiqued by some, particularly backers of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF is the Kurdish-led group that defeated ISIS.
Barrack has backed the integration of the SDF into the new Damascus security forces. Some SDF supporters preferred that the Kurdish-led region in eastern Syria remain autonomous.
Barrack also began to play an increasing role in US policy in Iraq and around the region. “Ambassador Tom Barrak has played an invaluable role as our Special Envoy to Syria,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on May 30.
The US wants to see both countries prosper
“While that title is expiring, he will continue to play a leading role for the Trump Administration in both Syria and Iraq, where his expertise, relationships, and understanding of the America First agenda will continue to deliver wins on behalf of our great country,” he added.
Some believed that this would mean Barrack would return to being focused on Turkey as ambassador.
On May 31, President Trump appointed Barrack as Special Envoy to Syria and also Special Envoy to Iraq. This will increase and extend his regional role. Trump says that Barrack has done an outstanding job and that he will continue to work on strategic cooperation with Syria and Iraq.
This is important to the US. These are two key countries the US has played a role in. The US intervened to help fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
In Iraq, the US partners were the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. In Syria, the partner force was the SDF. Now the US wants to see both countries prosper.
In Iraq, the challenge is rolling back and reining in Iranian-backed militias. Baghdad has shown some willingness under the new Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, to try to rein in the militias.
However, in the recent war, it appears the militias carried out almost 1,000 attacks on US forces in the Kurdistan Region and on other countries. Thus, Barrack has a lot of work ahead to stabilize Iraq and also continue to see success in Syria.
In Iraq, Shafaq News quotes a researcher as saying that the decision to “merge the Iraq and Syria files under the supervision of a single envoy reflects a fundamental shift in the American strategy towards the region.”
The report added that “this trend represents a shift from the American approach that has prevailed since 2003, which focused on democracy and development, to a regional approach that views Iraq from the perspective of regional balances, with the aim of reducing Iranian influence and redirecting the geopolitical course of the two countries in a way that serves American interests.”
Barrack's role clearly growing
While the announcement by Rubio was greeted by some as showing that Barack’s role might be ending and reduced, the Trump announcement makes it clear his role is growing.
This comes as the US continues to try to work toward an Iran deal. Turkey is a key NATO member that has remained outside the clashes with Iran. Barrack likely would like to see the same trend in Syria and Iraq, essentially stabilizing these countries as US partners, as much as possible.
This could also help with Lebanon because Hezbollah has, in the past, sought weapons from the Iraqi militias that are backed by Iran. Reducing Iran’s role is now possible.