WASHINGTON – Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have appointed Lebanese Americans to serve as foreign advisers on their quest to the White House.
Clinton has sought consultation from Peter Daou, a longtime confidant and Democratic Party fundraiser, while Trump has designated FOX News commentator Walid Phares as a foreign policy adviser.
Peter Daou
Daou is a former adviser to Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and CEO of ShareBlue, a left-leaning political news 
website. He also served as a senior consultant to the Clinton Foundation’s Global Initiative.
According to his website, Daou was born in Beirut and lived through the Lebanese Civil War. At 15, he joined the Lebanese Forces and received combat training for three years, he says.
He once tweeted: “What frustrates rightwing haters when I engage them is that I served in the Lebanese Forces militia in Beirut, so they can’t use that card.”
Daou has organized media roundtables for President Bill Clinton and has designed digital strategies for the UN Foundation, Department of Energy and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Walid Phares
Phares is a FOX News commentator and longtime conservative analyst on global terrorism and foreign affairs. 
Prior to FOX, Phares provided commentary to NBC, and has testified before the U.S. Congress, and committees of the U.S. State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security.
Similar to Daou, Phares served as a civil war consultant to the Lebanese Forces and as head of the party’s External and Diaspora Affairs Office.
In a controversial policy article for an Israeli think tank, Phares once proposed Southern Lebanon becomes a state of its own and becomes a close ally to Israel.
“A Christian enclave is needed somewhere in Lebanon,” he wrote.
Phares previously served as foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney for his 2012 presidential campaign.