Archive · 26 Sep 2025
US Envoy: Middle East Is Tribes and Villages
Imagine the Middle East isn't a bunch of countries like Europe, but more like lots of families and villages.
The US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, thinks this is the reality.
He said the borders were drawn a long time ago by other countries, not by the people who live there.
He believes the different groups of people and tribes in the Middle East don't all see themselves as one big country.
Barrack points to an old agreement that carved up the Ottoman Empire, creating the countries we know today.
He also thinks it's not realistic to expect all these different groups to agree on everything.
Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Turkey, stated the Middle East is not a group of nation-states but tribes and villages.
Barrack claims nation-states in the region were artificially created by British and French diplomats.
He blames the Sykes-Picot pact for issues in the region.
Barrack believes that expecting political alignment among the various ethnic groups is unrealistic.
The statement comes at a time when President Donald Trump is involved in peace negotiations.
- Who
- Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria
- What
- Barrack said the Middle East is not a real region and consists of tribes and villages, not nation-states.
- When
- Interview published September 25, 2025
- Where
- Middle East
- Why
- Barrack believes that the Sykes-Picot pact created artificial states and that expecting political alignment among the diverse ethnic groups is unrealistic.
- Who
- Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria
- What
- Barrack stated that the Middle East doesn't exist as nation-states, but as tribes and villages.
- Where
- Middle East
- When
- Interview published September 25, 2025
- Why
- Barrack blames the Sykes-Picot pact for issues in the region and believes alignment among the more than 100 ethnic groups is unrealistic.