US Special Representative for Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack made statements signaling a fundamental shift in Middle East policy. Speaking at the US-Iraq Business Summit on Friday, Barrack said Washington will now pursue a strategy that prioritizes trade and investment over war.
Barrack stressed that past military interventions and regime change attempts had failed, saying, "Since the end of World War I, there have been 23 regime change attempts in the region, but none have yielded successful results."
Emphasis on Economic Integration
The US representative stated that diplomacy, intelligence and military power alone cannot achieve lasting peace, and that economic investment and trade are essential. Barrack described Iraq as the center of a new regional partnership connecting Mesopotamia, Syria and the Gulf.
New Energy Corridor Plan
"We are working on a new energy corridor extending through Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to Central Asia and from there to Europe," Barrack said, adding that Iraq will be a central part of this new energy and transportation map.
Barrack said the initiative aims to strengthen regional integration through infrastructure, trade and long-term investments, and described Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi as "a young leader with an open and transparent vision."
Call for Support from American Business
Barrack called on American business and companies to fully support the Iraqi government. "This leader has the capacity to transform 23 years of complex relations and move Iraq into a new era of prosperity and stability," he said.
Stressing that Washington's future relationship with Iraq will be shaped by economic cooperation rather than military conflict, Barrack said, "We want to continue our relationship with Iraq through trade and reconstruction instead of war and destruction. This approach is the only sustainable way to protect the interests of both countries and the peoples of the region."
