'Iron man' helps reshape Lebanon

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MOUKHTARA, Lebanon - Ralid Jumblatt's sur-name means "the iron man" in Kurdish, and to many Lebanese that rings true.

A warlord during Lebanon's 15-year civil war, Mr. Jumblatt, now 56, has been rehabilitated, becoming the leading Druze lawmaker in Lebanon's parliament. He still has to deal with attacks from Suleiman Franjieh, a Syrian loyalist, and other lawmakers who accuse him of war crimes.

"It's not the first accusation," he said. "I was at one time a warlord, OK, and he was a warlord -- so what?"

At Mr. Jumblatt's heavily defended, 400-year-old home in Moukhtara -- about 30 miles southeast of Beirut, Lebanon's capital, and 18 miles from the coastal city of Damour -- it is easy to sense his family's rich heritage and how closely he is attached to it.

Mr. Jumblatt's ancestors were Kurds, and his friends say he is proud of his roots. Walid Arbid, a professor at Lebanese University, said the Jumblatt family emigrated from Syria to Lebanon during the 17th century at the invitation of Druze leader Fakhredine, before rising to political prominence under the leadership of Sheik Bashir Jumblatt.

Ten generations later, Mr. Jumblatt is still connected to the past, as a visit to his personal library testifies. Pictures of him with his son Taymour and Fidel Castro hang on the wall, and one corner displays relics of the civil war. The thousands of books are categorized by religion, culture, philosophy and country, covering everything from the Arab world to Latin America and from Islam to communism.

"He has a sense of where history goes like nobody else," said Chibli Mallat, a confidant and close friend.

Mr. Jumblatt is many things to many people. Dressed in a blazer and jeans, he talks about his passion for riding Harley-Davidsons, gardening and caring for the environment. But these interests belie Mr. Jumblatt's reputation as a versatile political animal that has adapted skillfully to changing times.

When his father, Kamal, was killed in 1977 over his suspected opposition to Syria's military presence in Lebanon during the civil war, Mr. Jumblatt inherited his leadership and eventually played an important part in the conflict. When he recognized the changing tide in 1989, he supported the Taif agreement that ended the war.

He now defies Lebanon's pro-Syrian government under President Emile Lahoud.