Linda and Kamal Joumblatt in Mukhtara in 1972, during the last election period before the Civil War broke out three years later. (Photo courtesy of the Joumblatt family)
On April 2, 1976, the American envoy to Lebanon, Dean Brown, cabled a lengthy report to his superiors at the U.S. State Department titled “WHAT DOES JOUMBLATT WANT.”In the message, Brown tells Washington that his “associates” had observed a change in Kamal Joumblatt, mystic and socialist leader of a Lebanese-Palestinian coalition. They judged in him an inflated optimism resulting from recent military successes in the Civil War that had broken out a year earlier. He seemed more intent than ever to overthrow capitalism in Lebanon, secularize the sectarian political system, and, in the meantime, name the next president.“This analysis suggests, of course, that the way to bring him to his senses is to make him taste a setback for a while,” the cable reads. “The danger is that Joumblatt's enemies will themselves start smelling victory and...
On April 2, 1976, the American envoy to Lebanon, Dean Brown, cabled a lengthy report to his superiors at the U.S. State Department titled “WHAT DOES JOUMBLATT WANT.”In the message, Brown tells Washington that his “associates” had observed a change in Kamal Joumblatt, mystic and socialist leader of a Lebanese-Palestinian coalition. They judged in him an inflated optimism resulting from recent military successes in the Civil War that had broken out a year earlier. He seemed more intent than ever to overthrow capitalism in Lebanon, secularize the sectarian political system, and, in the meantime, name the next president.“This analysis suggests, of course, that the way to bring him to his senses is to make him taste a setback for a while,” the cable reads. “The danger is that Joumblatt's enemies will themselves start...
Israel in 'stubborn negotiations' with Washington to keep troops in southern Lebanon
