*Clip # 1394 - Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt: I Apologize to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Comparing Snakes,
Whales and Wild Beasts to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad

The following are excerpts from an interview with Lebanese Druze leader
Walid Jumblatt, which aired on LBC TV on February 23, 2007.

Walid Jumblatt: We are facing someone [Iran] who has an army, money, and a
political plan for the Arab Islamic Middle East, and one of its frontline
bases is Hassan Nasrallah and Hizbullah in Lebanon. When we consider their
ideological writings, such as the books by Hazem Saghiyeh and Naim
Al-Qassem, we realize that we and they cannot meet halfway.

Interviewer: It is impossible to meet halfway with this plan?

Walid Jumblatt: Yes, because this is a plan of abolishment.

Interviewer: Abolishment of whom?

Walid Jumblatt: It is a plan to establish a Hizbullah state in Lebanon, at
the expense of pluralism, of the Taif Agreement, of free economy, and of the
free press.

[.]

[Hizbullah] said its weapons were "sacred weapons," and we disagreed. Now
they are talking about "divine weapons." A truck [with Hizbullah weapons]
was driving around Beirut - and it was confiscated in Al-Hazmiya.
[Hizbullah] said it was loaded with "divine weapons," and demanded their
return. With all due respect to Hassan Nasrallah and the others, we
participated, unfortunately, in the civil war in the past, and we know that
the range of 60 mm mortars is 500 meters at most. It is meant for urban
warfare, not for Haifa, "beyond Haifa," or "beyond beyond Haifa." It is
meant for urban warfare.

[...]

Interviewer: Do you regret what you said on February 14, 2007?

Walid Jumblatt: No, but the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against
Animals contacted me, and said that they reject the comparison of snakes,
whales, and wild beasts to Bashar Al-Assad. I apologize to that society. But
I don't regret anything else I said.

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