Tom Barrack calls on Gulf to take greater responsibility for its defence
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Nouvelle Tribune
US envoy Tom Barrack called on Gulf countries to take greater responsibility for their security at a forum in Doha, while saying the United States was not withdrawing from the region. He also said Washington was providing logistical support to Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels and ruled out US ground intervention, according to Middle East Eye.
US envoy Tom Barrack called on Gulf countries to take greater responsibility for their own security on Tuesday 20 October 2026 at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Qatar, according to Middle East Eye. The US ambassador to Turkey and President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Syria and Iraq said Washington was no longer seeking to own or control the region.
Tom Barrack said the agreement linking the Gulf’s energy supplies to US protection had not ended, but was « in transition ». He ruled out a US withdrawal, while saying that the United States’ role as guarantor of global security, exercised for 80 years, no longer existed in its previous form.
Regarding the war in Yemen, the US envoy said Washington was providing logistical support to Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels, but ruled out US ground military intervention, which he considered futile. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson reaffirmed Doha’s support for Riyadh in defending its sovereignty, according to Middle East Eye.
The historic agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia dates back to a meeting between Franklin Roosevelt and King Abdulaziz ibn Saud on 14 February 1945 aboard the cruiser USS Quincy in the Suez Canal. It later led to the establishment of US bases in the Gulf and exchanges of oil, gas and weapons between the two sides.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
