Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 1999, pages 63, 95

Special Report

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander’s Journey To His Ancestors’ Lebanon

By Carole Dagher

General George A. Joulwan, former NATO supreme allied commander (and as such, former commander of the NATO troops in Bosnia), paid a landmark visit to his grandfather’s home country, Lebanon, in October. He was accompanied by his wife, Karen, and the executive director of the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), George Cody.

The visit was heavily covered by the Lebanese media, particularly since General Joulwan met with the top leaders of the country, including former President Elias Hrawi, Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz, Defense Minister Mohsen Dalloul and Minister of Emigration Talal Arslan. He also met with General Emile Lahoud, the then-commander-in-chief of the army who is now the newly elected president, and the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir.

After his talks with the various officials in Beirut, visits to Byblos and Baalbeck, and a number of dinners in his honor during his six-day sojourn, General Joulwan told the Washington Report that “the key issue is the important role Lebanon will play in a comprehensive Middle East peace.

“For the last six years, when I was in NATO, Lebanon was also part of my responsibility,” he said. “So I looked very closely at Lebanon, Syria and Israel. I think it’s in American interests to have a free, democratic, prosperous Lebanon. It’s also a key part of Lebanese discourse to seek to protect its sovereignty and how it defines its position with regard to its neighbors. Despite its difficult but strategic location, Lebanon has been able to protect its identity.”

The former NATO commander visited Lebanon for the first time in January 1984, in the wake of the Marine barracks bombing, as a brigadier general, with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General George Vessey.

“We were there to assess what occurred and we met then with President Amin Gemayel and General Tannous [former commander-in-chief of the army],” he recalled. This time, from the time we landed at the airport I could see the great progress that has been made and I was impressed by the development of downtown Beirut.

“We drove from the International Airport of Beirut to the hotel on the seaside, and the visit really confirmed to me the pride that the Lebanese people have in getting back to some degree of normalcy and in restoring their city as a cultural and business hub and their country as a tolerant, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and sovereign nation.”

Assessing security conditions in Lebanon, General Joulwan said, “Lebanon is still going through a transition. You have occupation in the south and in the north in a small country like Lebanon. So it’s hard to say everything is normal. But I think the transition to normalcy is coming and Lebanon is on the right path.

“I felt no problem whatsoever, although I did have some moderate security with me as I went to different places. It would be wrong to say ‘there are no security concerns.’ There still are. But they are less than what I’ve seen before.”

Commenting on his discussions with political leaders, General Joulwan said, “I saw a much more politically, diplomatically and militarily unified Lebanon, and a Lebanese people wanting very strongly to get back to their harmonious life together.”

From his meeting with General Lahoud (a few weeks before Lahoud was elected president of the Republic), General Joulwan said he had “an excellent” impression. “He gave me a very good briefing on the status of the Lebanese army (which the U.S. has supported through the Excess Defense Articles [EDA] and International Military Educational Training [IMET] programs).

“I think he’s an excellent soldier and commander. He loves his country and he understands that a nation like Lebanon must be able to unify itself and that the army would serve as a way to demonstrate how people can get promoted and advanced on their abilities and competencies. So I think that General Lahoud is clearly a good choice for the Lebanese people and that he has a vision of what Lebanon can and should be for the future.

“To secure economic growth, you need stability,” General Joulwan continued. “So how do you achieve stability while still maintaining democracy? That is the challenge that General Lahoud will face and I wish him the very best.”

The highlight of General Joulwan’s trip was his visit to his grandfather’s village and home in Toula, in the northern hills above Byblos. This emotionally charged visit “exceeded all my expectations,” he said. “We went from a four-lane highway to a two-lane highway, to a one-lane road and then to another road to Toula. Motorcycles picked us up for the last 200 yards.”

When they finally got to the village, the surprise was total. More than a thousand people lined the streets under banners proclaiming in both English and Arabic: “Toula welcomes its famous son, General Joulwan.” The Lebanese-American general was lifted to the people’s shoulders and carried further up the hill. Then the whole village headed to the Maronite church, where a mass was celebrated by three priests and a Monsignor.

“As I looked at all these people, they looked just like my relatives back in the U.S., and they were from the same roots,” General Joulwan recalled. “I could see my own children, uncles, cousins in the faces of these people. It was very emotional for me and my wife. I said a few words to them and then we went to my grandfather’s home, built in 1888. He had carved out a little chapel in the basement of the house.

“One of my relatives gave me a family tree that went back to the 1500s, and traced it all forward, and there were a lot of Maronite priests in our family. I was overwhelmed by the turnout.

“They had a festival there, speeches and mementos. I even joined the DabkÁ [the traditional folkloric dance of Mount Lebanon]. I’ve been through awards and celebrations, but that was special.”

Subsequently, the men of the Joulwan family traveled to Beirut for lunch with the general in the hotel where he was staying. “We talked about the future,” the general said.

“My message was that the only way for the 18 groups that form the Lebanese people to find true peace and stability and freedom and sovereignty is to emphasize the things they share in common rather than their differences. They should capitalize on what unites them and find their common ground based on tolerance. Lebanon could be a very good example for countries like Bosnia and others of how to live together in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.

“There are many countries and organizations that can help Lebanon,” the general concluded, “but first the Lebanese people must pull together and start building on their common history, put together the richness of their cultural diversity, and bring in their joint economic skills that would make of Lebanon the showpiece of the Middle East and the bridge between East and West.”