US envoy Tom Barrack has had more than a few unusual exchanges in the course of his visits to Lebanon, but today seemed to spark a higher level of annoyance among the locals by lashing out at the press conference he was attending and berating the reporters as “animalistic.”
Barrack repeatedly demanded silence from the entire conference hall, then began condemning the reporters for not behaving “civilized” and threatened to leave, adding that their behavior in asking questions was indicative of the problems the entire region has.
Barrack went on to insist that he was willing to respond to questions asked “kindly” but other than that “we’re gone.” He then complained that he “can’t even have two minutes.”
US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack | Image from Reuters
Coverage of the conference before Barrack became angry suggests it was relatively ordinary, with multiple people asking questions at the same time, and trying to get answers for those questions. Barrack appeared to believe that was beyond the pale, and it does not appear he answered much in the way of questions.
The Lebanese Press Syndicate issued a statement calling for the State Department of apologize for the inappropriate treatment of the reporters. The Lebanese office of the presidency also expressed regret for Barrack’s actions, and thanked the reports for their hard work.
Barrack was with a delegation in Lebanon trying to sell a plan to impose a “Trump economic zone” in southern Lebanon. The retains of that plan are still not entirely certain, beyond no civilians being allowed to live there and officials envisioning it as somehow filled with Lebanese state-run industry.
Lebanon’s President Aoun indicated a few days ago that he hadn’t even been informed of the plan, which initially broke in the media. Israeli media are claiming that it was an Israeli proposal, though the only consist aspect of it is that Lebanese civilians who presently live there would all be expelled.
Barrack insisted that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had signed on to invest in the Trump zone, and claimed it would “create jobs” for Hezbollah members after the Lebanese government forcibly disarms them. It’s not clear how this would work in practice.
Israel for its part has continued to push for Hezbollah’s disarmament, but an Israeli official was also quoted as saying they are prepared to “launch a broad attack” on the entirety of Lebanon, and that such an attack may come “regardless of the internal debate in Lebanon.”
