Lebanon, U.S. Military Involvement in

Lebanon, U.S. Military Involvement in. Leba non, a multi‐ethnic, multi‐religious nation situated between Syria and Israel on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Ocean, became of particular importance to America in 1957 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the Eisenhower Doctrine declaring the Middle East vital to U.S. national security interests. Subsequently, fighting and political disputes in the Lebanon Crisis (1958) caused three U.S. military incursions, actions that proved only marginally successful in producing stable solutions favorable to America's Middle Eastern policies.

Following Eisenhower's announcement, the U.S. Sixth Fleet, patrolling the eastern Mediterranean, became a visible symbol of U.S. interest and power in the region. However, such a display of force failed to stymie the onrush of events that challenged American aims. The creation of the United Arab Republic, an anti‐U.S. union of Syria and Egypt in early 1958; the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon in May 1958; and finally, the overthrow of a pro‐Western regime in Iraq in early July, all provoked Eisenhower to order three U.S. Marine Corps battalion landing teams ashore in Lebanon on 15–16 July 1958. U.S. Army airborne forces were flown in from Germany on 19 July. By August, the American military contingent in the country consisted of over 15,000 troops. An uneasy truce came about in September, and when elections were announced, U.S. forces were withdrawn in October 1958.

The 1958 American incursion in Lebanon was practically casualty‐free, but the 1982–84 involvement was wholly different. When Israeli forces invaded Lebanon in an attack on anti‐Israeli forces in June 1982, the administration of President Ronald Reagan became concerned over the region's instability and opted to land Marines at Beirut in August to help restore stability in the divided country. The 800‐man unit, the 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit, was withdrawn in 15 days. Negotiating with its Western allies, the United States participated in a multinational stability effort later that fall. Two U.S. military missions were established. First, Army Special Forces units were deployed to Beirut with the task of training pro‐Western Lebanese forces; second, U.S. Marines were once again landed with the assignment to protect the Beirut airport. The Marines went ashore amid lavish press coverage and promptly became targets of snipers and occasional artillery fire. Attempts to quell these attacks by U.S. naval gunfire and air strikes failed to stop the harassment. Special Forces troopers kept a low profile in Lebanon, dodging the press and melding in with their Lebanese trainees.

In mid‐April 1983, a truck bomb exploded near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing more than 60 people, including 17 Americans. Despite this episode, on 23 October 1983, a terrorist was able to drive a truck loaded with explosives past Marine guards and into the Marine headquarters. The terrorist detonated the load, killing himself and 241 of the 300 Marines asleep in the building. The Marines were withdrawn from Lebanon on 26 February 1984; in March, the United States announced its abandonment of the multinational security effort. Army Special Forces elements remained in Lebanon and continued their mission for a few more months without incident. Fighting in Lebanon continued through most of the 1980s.
[See also Middle East, U.S. Military Involvement in the; Peacekeeping.]

Bibliography

Roger J. Spiller , “Not War But Like War”: The American Intervention in Lebanon, 1981.
Eric M. Hammel , The Root: The Marines in Beirut, August 1982–February 1984, 1985.

Rod Paschall