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An appeal by Charles Sarkis, President of the Christian Democratic Party in Lebanon, calling on the US administration to dismiss Special Envoy to Syria and US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack over concerns about conflicts of interest and regional policy.
PUBLISHED
November 20, 2025
READ TIME
2 min read
SOURCE
Dr. Ed Kh
I am Charles Sarkis, President of the Christian Democratic Party in Lebanon. I address this urgent appeal to the administration of President Donald Trump, following his recent decision to lift the designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization, calling for the immediate dismissal of the US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack.
The selection of Barrack for this sensitive diplomatic post raises serious concerns. He is a billionaire businessman and former friend of Trump who was arrested in 2021 on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, influencing US policy, and lying to the FBI. He was released on a massive bail of $250 million, but his case remains unresolved, haunted by new suspicions of repeating the same pattern of influence — this time on behalf of Turkey, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Even if not yet proven in court, established financial ties — such as the 2010 purchase of Miramax from Qatar for $660 million, then its subsequent resale at significant profit — raise serious questions about conflicts of interest.
Most alarming of all, Barrack actively promotes an American-Turkish rapprochement while deliberately ignoring the bloody history of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region for more than four centuries (1516–1918) and committed documented massacres against Armenians, Greeks, Syriacs, and Maronites, reaching their peak during World War I. This deliberate disregard for history reopens deep wounds — especially when combined with open or covert support for Syrian figures aligned with Erdoğan and the Muslim Brotherhood, such as interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, amid the ongoing displacement and violations against Alawites, Druze, and Christians inside Syria.
What is happening is not merely a diplomatic shortcoming — it is a dangerous alignment that could open the door to a "new Ottoman" project concealed beneath diplomatic language, reproducing authoritarianism and sectarianism under a new regional cover. This undermines the credibility of America's role and jeopardizes regional stability, particularly in light of Washington's shift in stance toward groups that were previously designated as terrorist organizations, foremost among them Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
For these reasons, I demand the immediate dismissal of Thomas Barrack and the appointment of an honest diplomatic figure, well-versed in the complexities of Middle Eastern history and untainted by circles of financial and political influence. Protecting minorities and ending the historical violation of their rights runs through this decisive decision.
Charles Sarkis President of the Christian Democratic Party — Lebanon
