Leadership Quote by Walid Jumblatt

Jumblatt’s line works because it refuses the satisfying fiction of clean endings. “Syrian influence has not ended yet” is blunt, almost bureaucratic, but the second sentence - “It is going to be a very long path” - shifts into something closer to political weather forecasting: slow-moving, hard to resist, shaping everything whether you admit it or not. The phrasing is doing two jobs at once: warning the public not to expect miracles, and signaling to power-brokers that he’s realistic about the balance of forces.

Context matters. In Lebanon, “Syrian influence” isn’t only about troops on the ground; it’s about intelligence networks, patronage, alliances, border economics, and the ever-present ability of Damascus (and its regional backers) to tilt Lebanese outcomes. After Syria’s formal military withdrawal in 2005, many Lebanese factions sold the moment as a reset. Jumblatt punctures that narrative. He’s saying the withdrawal was a chapter break, not the last page.

Subtextually, this is also Jumblatt speaking in his trademark register: survivalist clarity from a politician who has made a career out of reading the room early and pivoting before the room turns violent. “A very long path” isn’t inspirational; it’s caution tape. It prepares his audience for incrementalism, compromise, and the likelihood that sovereignty will be contested in layers - through institutions, elections, and security - not restored in a single heroic act.