Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt recently posted a current photo of himself with former Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, with Jumblatt providing a brief comment saying, “Abu Jamal is an old friend.”
The photo appears to have been taken at Khaddam’s residence in France, where he has lived following what is considered an “early defection” from Bashar al-Assad’s regime. This defection was prompted by Khaddam’s clear disagreement with Assad’s reckless handling of the Lebanese file, which ultimately led to the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Khaddam openly accused Bashar al-Assad of being involved in Hariri’s assassination, leading the regime to mobilize its media and institutions to discredit Khaddam and dig into what it called “corruption files” involving Khaddam, who had served the regime for decades.
