Meet the Lebanese Americans Who Advised Trump and Clinton on MidEast Policy

posted on: Nov 8, 2016

BY: Hala Atirah/Contributing Writer

Could you ever imagine that a small country like Lebanon would be involved in a huge way in this year’s presidential election? Two Lebanese American advisors, Peter Daou and Walid Fares, have been shaping foreign policy for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, respectively.

Walid Phares was Trump’s advisor on counterterrorism and foreign policy, while Peter Daou was Clinton’s advisor on foreign policy.

Two Arab Americans played a part in forming America’s future relationship with the world, and thus the lives of all Americans. Their authority on candidates’ policies was influenced by their Lebanese backgrounds, which is a level of power Arab Americans do not normally see.

So who are Peter Daou and Walid Phares?

Peter Daou is a son of a white American woman and a Lebanese father. He grew up in Lebanon, where he witnessed the Lebanese civil war from 1975-1990. At the young age of 15, Daou started training with the Lebanese military, but wanted to leave. Law forbade him to leave Lebanon without permission from the military, even though he was a U.S. citizen.

During the 1980s, Daou finally left Lebanon to pursue a degree in Philosophy at New York University. Currently, he is the CEO of ShareBlue, which is a political media company. He is one of the nation’s top political bloggers and his articles have been widely read and cited by many journals. Daou is considered one of the first Internet bloggers to work in presidential campaign. He has advised many political personas, from Hilary Clinton to John Kerry and Arlen Specter.

Daou is a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. During the 2016 presidential campaigns, tweeted in favor of Clinton on a daily basis, while also tweeting against Trump. In one of his most popular articles, Daou described Clinton as one of “the most ethical and the most (lied about) political leaders in America.”

On the other side of the aisle is a man who shares the same Lebanese origins as Daou, but opposes him on the political platform. Donald Trump appointed Walid Phares as an expert advisor on terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs.

Many times throughout his campaign, Trump referred to Phares as a Muslim, even though the advisor is a Maronite Christian. Also born in Lebanon, Phares spent the first half of his life living and working in Beirut. Prior to moving to the U.S., Phares was a political activist in Lebanon. He joined the MECHRICH committee and adhered to a small political party that is the Social Democratic Christian Union.

He worked as an attorney in Lebanon before leaving his home country to earn a master’s degree in France and a PhD at the University of Miami in Florida. Afterwards, he became a professor of Middle East studies and international relations, in which he focused largely on human rights.

Phares is the author of fourteen books related to Arab world politics, radical Islam, and democracy. For over twenty years, he has been an advisor of Middle East politics to various members of Congress, as well as Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign.

Daou and Phares have incredible backgrounds and extensive knowledge on Arab issues, but Arab Americans have criticized the Middle East foreign policy proposals of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Clinton would like to see ground troops in Syria, while Trump wants to ban all Syrian refugees and some Muslims from entering the country. It is interesting to see these key policy proposals unfold in America under the direction of Lebanese American advisors. By Wednesday, America will know which advisor’s judgment was more successful.