Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983—The Marine Commander Tells His Story

Front Cover
Potomac Books, Inc., Sep 30, 2009 - History - 272 pages
On 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 The Beginning
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
Bibliography
239
Index
241
About the Author
249
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Col. Timothy J. Geraghty, USMC (Ret.) entered the Marine Corps in 1959 following graduation from St. Louis University. He commanded a reconnaissance company in Vietnam and, while a lieutenant colonel, served in a special assignment with the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Operations Group. He commanded the Twenty-fourth Marine Amphibious Unit in Beirut in 1983 as part of the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force. Upon his retirement from the Corps, he returned to the CIA to serve in the Counterterrorism Center. He later worked in private industry and currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

Gen. Alfred M. Gray, Jr. was the 29th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.

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