Democratic Gathering bloc MP Wael Abu Faour denied on Thursday that MP Walid Jumblatt had called for Syria to be occupied by the United States. Abu Faour's comments came in response to an editorial written by Ad Diyar's Charles Ayoub, in which the latter lashed out at the Druze leader for his statements made to The Washington Post.In a statement, Abu Faour said Jumblatt's position was a "defensive position regarding the crimes and political assassinations the Syrian regime is committing in Lebanon." The row is over comments Jumblatt made to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that he "feared a deadly new attack by the Syrians that would attempt to trigger sectarian conflict in Lebanon and take the heat off Damascus."
According to Jumblatt, "regime change in Syria, a Milosevic solution, is the only stable outcome that will bring Assad to justice through the United Nations." Addressing U.S. officials, the Chouf MP said: "You came to Iraq in the name of majority rule. You can do the same thing in Syria."
Abu Faour noted that "when Walid Jumblatt commented on Iraq and had his entry visa to the U.S. withdrawn, none of those who claim Arabism in Lebanon sided with him because, at that time, they did not want to disturb the Syrian-U.S. relations or thwart the possibility of renewing a Syrian-U.S. deal in Lebanon."