40 Years Ago: Peacekeepers’ Sacrifice in Beirut

By Bill Doughty––

Religious war in the Middle East seems never-ending, with non-democratic Islamist extremists targeting Jews and other non-Muslims as infidels deserving of death. Hamas terrorists from Gaza inflicted a brutal attack on innocent Israelis and other civilians on October 7. Israel is retaliating and pledges to destroy Hamas. As a result of Hamas’s attack, innocent people living in Gaza, who terrorists use as human shields, are being killed in the crossfire.

Meanwhile, Iran fuels the flames of terrorism and destruction –– supporting not only Russia in its war in Ukraine but also Hamas in Gaza on Israel’s southern border and Hizbollah in Lebanon on Israel’s northern border. Iran also supports Islamic Jihad terrorists such as those whose misfired rocket killed hundreds at a Baptist hospital in Gaza.

Forty years ago today, Islamic Jihad bombers supported by Hizbollah and elements in Iran and Syria, attacked a multinational peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. military personnel, 58 French military personnel, and six civilians at the Marine barracks. Of the U.S casualties, 220 were Marines; 18 were Sailors, including 15 Navy corpsmen and one medical officer; and three were Army Soldiers.

Then-President Ronald Reagan sent the U.S. military to Lebanon to provide security, stability, and deterrence in the wake of Israel’s 1981 invasion of Lebanon, where Muslims and Christians were at war.

Instead, the presence of Western peacekeepers provoked the jihadists. According to Col. Timothy J. Geraghty, USMC (ret.), who commanded the U.S. Multinational Peacekeeping force, “The Beirut experience has an overarching lesson: force-building and peacekeeping do not mix, particularly in the Middle East.”

Geraghty is author of the definitive accounting of the Beirut MNF Bombing, “Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983 –– The Marine Commander Tells His Story” (Potomac Books, 2009). He contends, “The seeds of modern-day terrorism and suicide bombings were sown in Lebanon in 1983. The evolution of this insidious movement began with the suicide bombings of the U.S. embassy and the Marines’ Battalion Landing Team Headquarters and continued with the kidnappings, murder, torture, and intimidation of Americans and fellow Westerners.”

Geraghty says frankly, “The peacekeeping experience in Lebanon demands that we carefully review these events and learn how we can better prepare ourselves to preclude any recurrence of this tragedy.”

One lesson he calls for is appropriate retaliation, which did not happen after the Marine barracks bombing.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Patrick J. Sloyan praises Geraghty in “When Reagan Sent in the Marines: The Invasion of Lebanon” (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s, 2019) and agrees with him that not retaliating at the time was a big mistake.

Sloyan writes:

“Reagan refused to strike Iran despite solid evidence of its role in the embassy and Marine barracks bombing sin 1983. Rather than prolong the conflict and threaten his reelection in 1984, Reagan resorted to his political skills to manipulate perceptions and divert attention from the Beirut debacle. In the process, he gave a cold shoulder to the battered Marines there. Instead of accepting his share of responsibility for the tragedy, he blamed it all on the Marine commander in Beirut. It was his worst moment as commander in chief. In leaving Iran unpunished, he encouraged the Tehran regime and other enemies to continue their back-alley war against the United States without fear of reprisal.”

In his book, Sloyan presents a devastating account of the Iran-Contra scandal, in which Reagan and members of his team –– principally Robert McFarlane and Col. Oliver North –– orchestrated an arms for hostage deal with Iran, involving shipping hundreds of missiles and other arms to the Shia-led government.

“It was North who provided the highlights of the trip,” writes Sloyan. “He delivered an Israeli-baked chocolate cake in the shape of a key, to symbolize the unlocking of US-Iranian relations, and a bible Reagan signed and inscribed from Galatians 3:8. ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you.’” The goal was to free hostages held by Iran-backed Hizbollah militants.

As part of the arms-for-hostages deal, North received $15 million that was later funneled to the right-wing Contras who were in armed conflict with the communist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. At first, Reagan lied to the American people about his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal, but a week later admitted and expressed regret for the affair.

Retired Col. Timothy J. Geraghty signs copies of his book "Peacekeepers at War" after his professional miliitary education class at the Command Museum aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, April 29, 2011. Geraghty commanded the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit during the Beirut bombing in 1983. (LCpl Eric Quintanilla)

Both Sloyan’s and Geraghty’s books are informative, revelatory, and prescient.

Geraghty sees a direct line between the horrors of 1983 and the attacks of 9/11 in 2001. Despite the virtual elimination of ISIS, we see the religious ideology of hatred continue in what happened to jews and secularists in Israel on October 7.

Garaghty has been a guest of the Marines for a number of memorial commemorations of the Beirut bombings. He concludes his landmark “Peacekeepers at War” with this observation:

“The Islamist jihadists attacked us in Beirut, but they have also struck in New York, Washington, London, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Bali, Kabul, and numerous other locations around the world. Their indiscriminate targeting of civilians and brutality reflect their fear and hatred of liberty and freedom. We must pursue victory over this scourge of mankind, not only for our own security, but also to honor the valor and sacrifice of our finest and most dedicated warriors, those who go into harm’s way to protect the freedoms we all cherish.”

Still, the never-ending war in the Middle East continues. And there is now an intense risk of escalation as U.S. military forces are targeted. Some see the potential for an actual world war as Russia, Iran, and North Korea (and China) align closer.

In a world requiring nuanced understanding and commitment to human rights and lasting peace, some would unfortunately prefer to see only bipolar options fueled by their faith, hate, and grievance –– authoritarianism and theocracy over liberty and democracy.

Top photo: Distinguished guest paticipants stand at the position of attention as the wreaths are laid during the 34th Beirut Memorial Observance Ceremony at Lejeune Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville, N.C., Oct. 23, 2017. A memorial observance is held Oct. 23 of each year to remember those lives lost during the terrorist attacks at U.S. Marine Barracks, Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Judith L. Harter)