The White Man in Beirut: Walid Jumblat's Complex (Update)

There is no person I know who has a complex vis-a-vis the White Man more than Walid Jumblat. He craves the company of the White Man. He never seems to be able to have his meal in his house without the company of some white man from somewhere, usually a white European diplomat or journalist. He rarely speaks to Arab journalists and does not seem to invite Arab diplomats to his house, but if a second assistant to the assistant to the deputy of ambassador of a European country asks to see him, the person would be having dinner with him on the same day. It really says something deep about him and about his proclivities. And note in his interviews with the Western press how he goes out of his way to show the White Man that he is civilized and sophisticated. He usually likes to show them (very patiently--for a restless and most impatient man) around his palace, and show them his collection of New York Review of Books (a sign of civilization in the shallow homeland) and Foreign Policy--in this silly little article. And...he drinks wine. For some reason, the White Man is always impressed when an Arab drinks alcohol, perhaps because it so goes against the misconception of the White Man. I mean I had people in my family who were alcoholics in the 1940s and 1950s in South Lebanon, and I if I were to show them around to the White Man, he/she would have declared me civilized on the spot. And notice the clique that accompanied this lousy journalist: Michael Totten (whose dispatches--I am told by medical sources--are now officially prescribed as cures for insomnia) and Hitchens. And this writer did not even try to learn even basics about Lebanon: the Movement of March 14th--it is named after March 14th for potato's sake--is referred to as March 15th. I mean, how difficult it is to remember the date of the movement??? Imagine if a visitor to Russia were to refer to the March Bolshevik Revolution. The White Man does not even bother to learn about the Middle East when he visits. It is not important. He refers to the assassination of Kamal Jumblat in 1982, when he was assassinated in 1977. And is it not sweet that Walid Jumblat now remembers his father? I mean, somebody--SOMEBODY--needs to ask Walid Jumblat this basic question: where was your memory and fondness of your father from 1977 until 2005? Where? Or did you suddenly remember your father and remembered that he was killed by Syrian troops (of the regimes with which you were an ally and a tool from 1977 until 2005)? Please, tell me. And then the author visits Samir Ja`ja` and tells us that he read so many books in jail, and that he read Hegel. Wow. This has become common among criminals and war criminals: that they regale us with stories of voracious reading in jail. I have one thing to say about that: I read the same thing about Mike Tyson after serving time in jail. He told Larry King at the time that he read so much in jail and even read philosophy--just like Ja`ja (Ga`ga` in Egyptian accent). But I remember thinking: if Tyson read that much in jail, why is it not showing? I mean, if somebody really read in jail, it would show. A good example was Malcolm X: he really spent his time in jail to read voraciously, and it showed in his diction, and he spoke and wrote in classical literary English. You can say the same about Mandela. But in the case of Tyson and Ja`ja`, there is no evidence whatsoever for the jail-education. And Tyson went on for more assaults, and nothing was ever mentioned about his voracious reading. Same for Ja`ja`--although he has not resumed his war criminal activities as of yet. And then the visit the least imaginative and least talented, Fu'ad Sanyurah who told them: ""Lebanon is not a nation but a message." If this group of White Man is learned about Lebanon, they would have recognized that Sanyurah did not tell them that this saying is attributed to the last Pope, although he seems to comfortably plagiarizes it in English. You read this article and you remember to warn all those Americans who want to study the Middle East: you really REALLY need to learn Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish if you really want to study the region. If you only rely on English you will be as ignorant as this correspondent of Forbes. (thanks FLC)
PS Forbes sneakily edited the article and corrected the mistakes that I mention in this article. Wow.