Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983—The Marine Commander Tells His StoryOn October 23, 1983, nearly simultaneous suicide truck bombings killed 241 U.S. peacekeepers in their barracks at the Beirut International Airport (BIA) and 58 French paratroopers at their headquarters two miles north of BIA. In this long-awaited book, the Marine Corps commander of the U.S. Multi-National Peacekeeping Force that was destroyed by terrorists in Lebanon tells his story for the first time. Together, these suicide bombings comprised the largest nonnuclear explosion ever recorded and are now recognized as a seminal event leading to the current war on terrorism. Such acts of war revealed a new, highly effective tactic, which complemented the terrorist's strategic goals—the withdrawal of the peacekeepers and Western influence from Lebanon and a change in U.S. policy. Peacekeepers at War lays out, in detail, a sequence of events leading up to the suicide truck bombings from which one can extrapolate the rationale, motives, and perpetrators behind it. Geraghty argues that the absence of any retribution against the perpetrators emboldened the terrorists to assume they could attack Americans and Western interests with impunity. This led to kidnappings, torture, and the murders of Americans and other Westerners. Peacekeepers at War will be of interest to general readers who want to learn more about this seminal event and its effects on the current global war on terrorism. |
Contents
1 | |
2 Preparation and Deployment | 13 |
3 Taking over Responsibilities | 25 |
4 Relationships and Training | 33 |
5 Peacekeepers in Action | 43 |
6 The Predictable War | 53 |
7 Ceasefire and Rising Danger | 79 |
8 Suicide Bombings and Aftermath | 91 |
14 The War Comes Home | 209 |
Appendix A Responses | 215 |
Appendix B Edward Hickeys Message to the White House | 217 |
Appendix C White House Situation Report | 223 |
Appendix D Congressional Letters | 225 |
Appendix E Addendum to National Security Decision Directive 103 | 227 |
Appendix F Statement of the Families | 229 |
Notes | 231 |
9 Warriors Compassion | 123 |
10 Investigations | 137 |
11 Lessons Learned | 165 |
12 Connecting the Dots | 181 |
13 Iran Syria and Hezbollah | 195 |
Glossary | 235 |
239 | |
241 | |
About the Author | 249 |
Other editions - View all
Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983-the Marine Commander Tells His Story Timothy J. Geraghty Limited preview - 2009 |
Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983—The Marine Commander Tells His Story Timothy J. Geraghty No preview available - 2009 |
Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983—The Marine Commander Tells His Story Timothy J. Geraghty,Timothy Geraghty No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
24th MAU action aircraft ambassador American artillery Battalion Beirut International Airport BLT Headquarters Camp Lejeune casualties chain of command checkpoints civilians Colonel Geraghty combat commission continued diplomatic Druze evacuation explosive French Gemayel Gray helicopter Hezbollah hostile intelligence Iran Iran’s Iranian IRGC Islamic Israel Israel Defense Forces Israelis Italian Jumblatt Kelley killed Landing later Lebanese Armed Forces Lebanon located Marine Amphibious Marine Corps Marine positions Marines and sailors MAU’s medevac military mortar Mugniyah Multinational Force Muslim militias Navy october 23 officer operations Palestinian patrols peacekeeping peacekeeping mission personnel PHIBRoN rescue response rocket rounds September Shia Shiite Shouf Mountains sniper fire soldiers staff suicide attacks suicide bombing suicide truck bombings Suq-el-Garb Syrian Tannous target terrorism terrorist attacks threat truck bomb U.S. embassy United USMNF vehicles Walid Jumblatt War Powers Resolution weapons Weinberger withdrawal wounded