Walid Jumblatt

Lebanon
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Walid Jumblatt (Arabic: وليد جنبلاط‎) (born August 7, 1949) is the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party "PSP" of Lebanon and the most prominent leader of the Druze community. He is currently one of the most outspoken anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon and is allied with the March 14 Alliance, which includes the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Qornet Chehwan Gathering.

Family history

The origin of the Jumblatt family is the Kurdish Janpoulad family coming from Shamel Janpoulade and dating back to Janboulad Ibn Kassem al Kirdi al Kaisari, known as Ibn Arabou (1530-1580), and governor of Aleppo. Walid Jumblatt is the son of Kamal Jumblatt, the assassinated founder of the PSP, the party which Walid Jumblatt currently leads. He is the maternal grandson of Prince Shakib Arslan^[1]. His first wife was Gervette "Gigi," a Jordanian woman of Circassian origin who is the mother of his child Timour. His second wife is Nora.^[2]

Military life

After the sudden Israeli withdrawal from the Chouf Mountain of Lebanon in August 1982 and later in 1983, Jumblatt's PSP militia together with its Palestinian and Syrian allies, backed by Soviet weaponry from Syria, overran some 60 Maronite villages, killing thousands. This had been preceded by atrocities committed by the Christian Phalange militia. He secured a PSP victory and solidified his position as leader of the Druze over his rivals the Arslan family. In securing access to the sea for the Chouf Druze heartland at the expense of Maronite villages, he set up future tension with the Shia by bisecting their territorial contiguity. His opponent and leader of the Lebanese Armed Forces Eighth Brigade at the impregnable Chouf Mountain village of Souk El Gharb, General Michel Aoun is now again his opponent, but at the ballot box.

Political life

The BBC describes Jumblatt as "being seen by many as the country's political weathervane." ^[3]He has a successful record of changing allegiances to ensure that the sectarian interests of the Druze emerge on the winning side of the political issues and conflicts shaping Lebanon, from the turmoil of the 1975-1990 civil war to Lebanon's reconstruction. Like several other sectarian leaders, he was a supporter of the Syrian military presence (described as an occupation by anti-Syrian elements) in Lebanon after the civil war, but since the death of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 2000, he has campaigned for the end of Syrian domination of Lebanon. This has pitted him against President Emile Lahoud, who he considers a Syrian puppet, and the Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah for whom he said: "Their fighters have done a good job defying and defeating the Israeli army, OK, But the question we ask is where their allegiance goes: to a Lebanese strong central authority or somewhere else?" (Chicago Tibune interview Aug.11, 2006). It has also been argued that his previous support for Syrian intervention was compelled.

After the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005, Jumblatt said that a shaken Hariri had told him months before that Hariri had been personally threatened by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a 15-minute meeting in the Syrian capital Damascus in August 2004: ^[4]"(President) Lahoud is me ... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon."]. Jumblatt said, "When I heard him telling us those words, I knew that it was his condemnation of death." His comments have been included in the FitzGerald Report, the United Nations's report on the investigation of the Hariri assassination. The report criticizes Syria for the political tensions which preceded the assassination. The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have demanded a Syrian pullout from Lebanon and an international investigation into Hariri's murder.

Jumblatt has publicly spoken of his fear of being assassinated, like Hariri, because of his current stance towards Damascus. The unsuccessful attempt on the life of his closest political ally and friend, MP Marwan Hamadeh, in October 2004 was interpreted by many as an ominous message addressed to Jumblatt. In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, when asked about his concerns for his safety, he answered, "That's trivial; I don't think about it. When they will come, they will come."

Verbal Intemperance

Jumblatt has the reputation for quickly switching sides for political gain, and a predilection for saying things that prove embarrassing once he does switch sides. Jumblatt said on the failed assassination attempt ^[5] on Paul Wolfowitz in Baghdad in 2003 that "We hope that next time the rockets will be more accurate and effective in getting rid of this virus, and his like, who wreak corruption in the Arab lands."^[6] Additionally, he has called Bashar Assad "a half ape," George W. Bush a "mad emperor," Condoleezza Rice "oil-colored," and Tony Blair a "peacock with a sexual complex." He also said "My joy was great at the Columbia Disaster because of the death of an Israeli Astronaut."^[7] In an interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat ^[8] on February 12, 2004, Jumblatt said: "We are all happy when U.S. soldiers are killed (in Iraq) week in and week out. The killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq is legitimate and obligatory" ^[9]

References

1. ^ Kamal Jumblatt Biography Entry NNDB.com Accessed October 16, 2007
2. ^ Jumblatts’ family history captured in a painting Lebanonwire.com November 30, 2002 Accessed October 16, 2007
3. ^ Who's who in LebanonBBC Monday, 14 March, 2005, Accessed Oct. 16, 2007
4. ^ Behind Lebanon Upheaval, 2 Men's Fateful ClashNYT, By NEIL MacFARQUHAR Published: March 20, 2005, Accessed Oct. 16, 2007
5. ^ Jane Arraf, "Bold, Well-executed Attack", CNN, October 26, 2003, accessed April 18, 2007.
6. ^ US cancels visa for MP JumblattBBC Wednesday, 19 November, 2003, Accessed October 16, 2007
7. ^ Lebanese Druze Leader: Bush 'Mad Emperor,' Rice 'Oil-Colored,' Blair 'Peacock' With A 'Sexual Complex'; 'My Joy Was Great' at Columbia DisasterMEMRI February 7, 2003, Accessed Oct. 16, 2007
8. ^ [1]Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
9. ^ The CornerNational Review Wednesday, February 23, 2005 Accessed Oct 16, 2007 .

External links

Walid Jumblatt, by Gary C. Gambill and Daniel Nassif, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, Vol 3, No 5, May 2001
"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq" quoted in Beirut's Berlin Wall, by David Ignatius, Washington Post, February 23, 2005
"Rebel with a cause" by Massoud A. Derhally, Arabian Business, March 27, 2005
"Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt Accuses Hizbullah, Iran and Syria For Lebanon Crisis" Transcript of interview of Walid Jumblatt, broadcast on Al-Arabiya, July 20, 2006
We Should Treat the Syrian Regime the Same Way It Treats Us: With Car Bombs, Assassinations and Destruction. Bashar Al-Assad Is a Liar. Transcript of interview of Walid Jumblatt, broadcast on Al-Arabiya, December 28, 2006
Attacks Hizbullah, Iran, and Syria, and Says: I Support a Two-State Solution, Not the Liberation of Jerusalem Transcript of interview of Walid Jumblatt, broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV, January 31, 2007
On Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad: "An Ape Unknown to Nature, a Creature That Is Only Half-Man." Excerpts from an address delivered by Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 14, 2007.
Bush Meets With Anti-Semite Who Celebrated The Killing Of American Soldiers.

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Lebanon

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Lebanon

Constitution
President
mile Lahoud
Prime Minister

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Lebanon

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Lebanon

Constitution
President
mile Lahoud
Prime Minister

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Kūllūnā li-l-waṭan, li-l-'ula wa-l-'alam (Arabic)
"Nous sommes tous pour le pays, la sublimation et le drapeau!"
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Druze (Arabic: درزي, derzī or durzī, plural دروز, durūz; Hebrew: דרוזים‎, Druzim
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Anti-Syrian is a journalistic and political term used to describe a political position, which opposes the Syrian regime's interference in Lebanon. Unlike the term Anti-American, anti-Syrian does not express opposition or hostility toward the Syrian culture or people but rather its
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The March 14 Alliance (Arabic: حلف 14 آذار), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of anti-Syrian political parties and independents in Lebanon, led by Saad Hariri, younger
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Future Movement (Arabic: تيار المستقبل, Tayyar Al Mustaqbal) is a political movement in Lebanon, led by Saad Hariri, younger son of the assassinated former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri.
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Lebanese Forces (LF) (Arabic: القوات اللبنانية al-quwat al-lubnāniyya
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The Qornet Shehwan Gathering (Arabic: لقاء قرنة شهوان) is a Lebanese political organization, comprising politicians, intellectuals, and businessmen, mostly Christian and ranging in ideology from the
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The Jumblatt Family (جنبلاط in Arabic, also transliterated as Joumblatt, Junblat and Junblatt) is an influential Druze family who settled in the Lebanon mountains (coming from Syria) around the 15-16th century, fleeing
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Kamal Jumblatt (Arabic: كمال جنبلاط) ; (December 6, 1917 – March 16, 1977) was an important Lebanese politician.
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Shakib Arslan (1869–1946) was a Druze prince (amir) from Lebanon who was known as Amir al-Bayān (Arabic for "Prince of Eloquence") because in addition to being a politician, he was also an influential writer, poet and historian, among other things.
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