Trump envoy Tom Barrack says US ground involvement in Yemen would be fruitless

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DOHA, Qatar — A US presidential envoy said on Tuesday that American involvement in a ground war in Yemen would be fruitless.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye and special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, was speaking at the eighth Global Security Forum in Doha. The forum’s theme was “The Future of Alliances.”

“America getting involved in a ground, kinetic battle somewhere else seems fruitless,” Barrack said in an interview with Al Jazeera at the forum. “That’s not America’s job.”

He said President Donald Trump had been clear in supporting Saudi Arabia. “The backing that they need logistically, he will supply,” Barrack said.

Al-Monitor reported the remarks from the Al Jazeera interview. Anadolu Agency reported them from the forum, and its account was carried by Middle East Monitor and Dawn.

Barrack holds no Yemen brief. His envoy portfolio covers Syria and Iraq, and he is separately the US ambassador to Türkiye.

He said negotiations involving Saudi Arabia, the Houthis and regional mediators offered a better course than military intervention.

“It has to be that there becomes no purpose for those militias or those intermediaries,” he said, “so that the nation-state or the regime itself takes responsibility.”

Asked whether the era of US security guarantees in the Gulf had ended, Barrack said it had not. “I think it hasn’t ended. It’s transitioning,” he said.

“Owning doesn’t work. Controlling hasn’t worked,” he said. “So the bargain is not to own but to tend. Not to leave. We’re not leaving.”

“Every time we try and intervene and change the person or the regime, it seems to have been a mistake,” Barrack said. He said the United States had been involved in 23 changes of government in the wider region.

“This transition is complicated and difficult, and we don’t have a playbook,” he said.

He urged Middle Eastern states to build regional alliances rather than look to Washington to settle their disputes.

He said the United States was not abandoning its partners, but could not be expected to resolve every conflict in the region.

Axios reported in September that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had asked Trump for US air strikes against the Houthis, and that Trump declined.

Trump said on Oct. 10 that he would consider joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” he told reporters at the White House.

“We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he said.

He said later that evening that he would reach out to the Saudi crown prince.

Trump said separately that the United States would not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. He did not extend that to the Houthis.

Washington said in September that it had no plans to get involved in the conflict.

A projectile struck the complex housing Terminals 3 and 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on or shortly before Oct. 10. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said 13 people were killed and more than 300 injured.

Counts of the airport attacks differ. Time reported that at least 19 people had been killed in such attacks in recent days, while the Saudi-led coalition put the toll from 20 attacks on the airport since early October at at least 17 killed and more than 330 injured.

Yemen Herald could not independently verify either count. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the airport attacks.

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a security alert advising Americans to avoid the airport.

The United States has increased military escorts for shipping leaving the Strait of Hormuz, Fortune reported on Oct. 15.

Trump posted on social media on Oct. 13 that he would “be there after the Elections” and would “never forget.” The midterm elections are on Nov. 3.

Dan Pickering, founder of the consulting firm Pickering Energy Partners, told Fortune that the timing was shaping the response. “We’re staring at the midterms, and there is no response,” he said, calling it “an unpopular conflict.”

Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risk services at Rapidan Energy Group, said Washington had few choices. “The measured [U.S.] response reflects the fact that there are not a lot of good options to respond here,” he said.

A missile struck part of Saudi Aramco’s headquarters on Oct. 14, Fortune reported. The Houthis have said they will keep striking energy facilities and airports.

Oil has traded well above 100 dollars a barrel through the escalation.

Bloomberg reported on Oct. 6 that Trump was resisting a deeper US role in the conflict.

US support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen was ended in February 2021 under President Joe Biden.

Barrack also addressed Iran. He said the United States wanted a peaceful deal and named Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and Switzerland as mediators.

He cited a lack of trust with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as an obstacle to talks.

He suggested a modified “Islamabad understanding” could serve as a basis for negotiations.

Asked whether the US-Israeli war against Iran had been a mistake, Barrack said: “I don’t know whether it’s a mistake or not.” He described the situation it produced as horrible.

On Syria, Barrack praised President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s handling of the transition that followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

He called for an end to Israeli military operations in Syria.