Word: jumblatts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...city but throughout a 30-mile crescent stretching from Jounieh in the north to the mountain district of Kharroub. In the suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese Army clashed with Shi'ite militiamen. In the hills east of the city, government soldiers fought forces loyal to Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt. At the southern tip of the Chouf Mountains, the Druze and the Christian Phalange killed each other. Only West Beirut and the airport, where the U.S. Marines are stationed, were spared direct attacks. Since all sides have failed to settle on a security pact that would separate the feuding factions...
...Jumblatt raises the ante, hope for a cease-fire may be slipping away...
...most vociferous warnings came from Walid Jumblatt, 36, the mercurial, Syrian-supported Druze leader, who has consistently blocked all attempts at a ceasefire. Against the noisy backdrop of almost daily artillery battles between the Lebanese Army and Druze militiamen, Jumblatt called for the resignation of Lebanese President Amin Gemayel's government. Then he said that he had meant the Gemayel Cabinet but not the President. Still later, he insisted that he had been right the first time, and that Gemayel himself should resign. "We will not take part in any government or format with President Gemayel," he declared...
...words between the Druze and the Christians erupted into periodic artillery duels, while the Druze fire against Lebanese Army positions sent shells flying dangerously close to the U.S. Marine base at Beirut International Airport. When President Reagan expressed continued support of President Gemayel's government last week, Jumblatt, who is dependent on Syrian arms supplies, retorted, "The Lebanese people are fighting the Americans, and Lebanon will become their new Viet...
Exactly what the Syrians want is by no means clear. At the very least, they are seeking a stable Lebanon closely aligned with the Arab world, and thus with Syria. They have strong influence over Jumblatt, but neither they nor anybody else can control him. On his own, for example, Jumblatt scuttled a security plan in early January by insisting at the last moment that Druze officers in the Lebanese Army should be treated on the same basis as Christian and Muslim officers for promotions and other benefits. That seemed fair, except that some 800 Druze officers had failed...