Thursday, September 21, 2023
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Video of the Presentation is Available on House Divided’s YouTube Channel
The Beirut Barracks Bombing of 1983: The Stories that America Needs to Hear
Panelists
James Breckenridge, U.S. Army War College
Michael Gaines, Beirut Veterans of America
Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College
In 1975, civil war erupted in Lebanon and opposed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Muslim fighters to Lebanese Christian militias. The PLO was launching military attacks on Israel from Lebanese soil. On June 6, 1982, Israel Defense Forces, under the orders of the Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, launched Operation Peace for Galilee and invaded Lebanon to end these attacks and eliminate the PLO. Upon Lebanese request, a Multinational Peacekeeping Force (MNF) was created to oversee the departure of the PLO from Lebanon. The MNF was composed of American, French, Italian, and British military. Iran responded to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the MNF’s arrival by training Shiite fighters whose immediate goal was to expel all foreign forces out of Lebanon.
On October 23, 1983, witnesses reported seeing a yellow Mercedes speeding toward the barracks. Loaded with over ten thousand pounds of explosives, it flattened a concrete building that housed American troops. Two Read more