Attack on the Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut

The War on Terror can readily be compared to WWI.  The following analysis will compare and contrast these two important historical occurrences.  It will also examine just a few of the many consequences of both.

The Oklahoma City Bombing would be considered the worst terrorist attack on America prior to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Just outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, on April 19th, 1995 a truck exploded, killing 168 people. 19 of those 168 being children. The explosion caused damage to 300 surrounding buildings. Oklahoma City was going through a tragedy and needed guidance from a leader.

The book “How Terrorism End; Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns”, written in 2011 at the height of Al-Qaeda, the most well-known international terrorist group of our time. The author of this work, Audrey Cronin, at the time of print, served as a professor of strategy at the United States National War College in Washington D.C., and a senior associate at Oxford University’s Changing Character of War Program. Both positions allowed her to impact strategic policy making in the execution of the Global War on Terror by allowing her access to senior military and civilian policymakers. Her previous area of her prior work has been mainly focused on international terrorism with an emphasis on al-Qaeda. She has authored

Social and cultural aspects play a significant role in the media’s unflattering depiction of Islamic extremists, which correlates directly to military spending and relations with the Middle East. Since 9/11, when Arabs attacked the U.S. on behalf of Afghan Islamic extremists, relations with the Middle East have been tense, according to Thomas Kean and others in "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States” from the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Kean and others report that repercussions of the 9/11 attacks included homeland security improvements. Dov S. Zakheim, former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense and Chief Financial Officer, similarly discussed that relations worsened after 9/11 in "September 11: A Decade Later What 9/11 Has Wrought”, which details the effects

On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks were directed for the United States by means of four hijacked planes. Two of which hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense, and the fourth crashed in a field near Pittsburg after it was meant to hit the White House. The terror spread in the United States and brought concern and fear to the citizens. The impact of these terrorist attacks caused serious and detrimental damages within the country, and their result on the people were enormous; insecurity, helplessness, and susceptibility spread. Especially after the release of a videotape in which Osama Bin Laden, head of Al-Qaeda, admitted that he was responsible for the terrorist attacks. Hence, President George W, Bush declared the “war on terror” against all terrorists in the Arab world, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq. In the following paper, we will be discussing how the war on terror was waged, its effects on the target countries, and how it was perceived by political thinkers, where some saw it as a conspiracy theory against the Arab countries, and others believed the USA was the victim.

Events of the new millennium irreversibly changed the direction of American foreign policy. During the 1990s, Anti-American sentiments burgeoned in the Middle East within growing radical Islamist groups that perceived America as empirical and expansionist after the prolonged US occupation of Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia after the end of the first gulf war. The September 11th attack on the Twin Towers, once representative of American military and economic hegemony, symbolized to many a political failure that would change the focus of American national interest for years to come.

On April 19,1915, at approximately 10:15 am, a white van loaded with 4,800 pounds of explosives. pulled up in front of the Alfred P. Murrah building All of a sudden the Alfred P. Murrah building exploded killing 187 people.

It was outstanding that during the strategy planning for the attack of the city one of the main concerns of the Lieutenant General Natonski was that the battle would result in a humanitarian crisis, but most of the civilians had abandoned the city before. Natonski was able to avoid civil casualties as much as possible but not proper to damage as much as hoped because, citing his own words: “You can always rebuild a house, but you cannot rebuild a life. It was important to protect the Marines and soldiers”. 5

The post-Cold War international system has elevated human security issues, global issues and economic competitiveness to be leading concerns. Nonetheless, 9/11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan have ensured that the high politics of peace and security take precedence. Canada’s interest in Afghanistan was a direct result of the terror attacks of September 11th in the World Trade Center in the United States (Readings in… 117). This not only signified an outbreak of war on Canada’s neighbour, but it was symbolic of a fight against the entire Western World, undoubtedly including Canada. Over twenty-four Canadians were killed as victims of the attack. Essentially, Canada entered Afghanistan to fight terrorism abroad in order to maintain safety domestically; in a sense it was retribution for the lives lost in 9/11 and an active mission to eradicate the possibility of terrorist attacks in Canada. Secondly, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1368 which classified the terrorist attacks as a threat to international peace and security and recognized the “inherent right of individual or collective self-defence”(“Security Council…”). Arguably, three main factors led to Canada’s intervention in Afghanistan. Firstly, Canada chose to fight terrorism internationally as a reaction to 9/11, displaying the country’s complex neorealist agenda that

On March 30, 1981 John Hinckley Jr shot at the Then-President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, as he walked from the Washington Hilton Hotel to his limo. The President was hit in the armpit and two of his guards were also shot as well as his aide. President Reagan went into a 2-Hour surgery and survived the attempt on his life with a couple of scars. April 18, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, a man drove a truck into the US Embassy and detonated about 2,000 pounds of explosives. Instantly killing 63 people, including 13 American CIA operatives. Just a year before this brutal attack the military forces of the United States of America and some European nations stepped in to help the Lebanese government with the third part of their Civil War. The Lebanese Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad Organization expressed a strong dislike for the American and Israeli forces on the outskirts of Beirut. The Islamic Jihad Organization later claimed responsibility for the bombing. In the aftermath of the attack the Then-Secretary of State George Shultz tasked a team with making sure that the overseas embassies were safe. Their result was the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Diplomatic Security Service. On June 14, 1985 two gunman board a

Eerily, it seems that during the Cold War and the War on Terror, many of the feelings that citizens felt were the same, but what America called the enemy was different. Following the September 11th attacks, there was a feeling of paranoia felt throughout America similar to the paranoia felt during the Cold War. Americans did not feel safe, and an attack could come at any time. The fight on the home front looked different during the Cold War and the War on Terrorism. During the Cold War there was more of a correlation between fighting Communism, and buying consumer goods. During the war on terrorism Americans were asked to give up some of their rights in order to maintain their safety.

Terrorist attacks happen all over the world, creating a sense of hysteria and panic to the people surrounding the tragic events. The third most horrific attack in history, in my opinion, happened on 23 October 1989 in Beirut. A Marine barracks was bombed in Beirut, Lebanon killing 220 Marines and 21 other service personnel. This attack was considered to be the deadliest attack to the U.S. Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 (CNN, 2015). The bombing was traced back to the Hezbollah militant group along with Iranian and Syrian involvement. Colonel Timothy Geraghty, the commander of the barracks, after much criticism for having lackadaisical security said that it was hard to defend the compound due to local airport traffic. Countermeasure ideas for the Reagan administration were divided. Some said the president should deepen involvement in the Middle East while others feared doing that would lead to a trajectory similar to that of Vietnam. Ultimately, Reagan followed the advice of Secretary Weinberger that if we weren’t in it to win it, then we shouldn’t go to war (FoxNews, 2013). Reagan withdrew the troops in Lebanon and chose to not get involved in the Middle East. It has been over thirty years since the barrack bombing, and this attack is still considered one of the top terror attacks of all time. In fact, the Tamil Tigers performed a copycat attack a few years after this attack. When other terrorists mimic a particular attack, it is an indication of an

Iran gave direct support to Hezbollah through the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Hezbollah opposed Lebanon because it was supported by Israel and the United States, and in 1985 it issued its political agenda through the “Open Letter to the Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World.”# In 1989, the Taif Accord emerged and the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990 when Syrian troops moved into parts of Lebanon that were not occupied by Israel. The Taif Accord balanced powers between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, and overall tried to maneuver equality amongst both groups although Sunni elites were given the dominant role. After the Taif Accord, economic conditions continued to worsen and many began to underestimate the ability of Syria to control Lebanon. Syria then made the strategic move to promote Rafiq al-Hariri in 1992 to rescue Lebanon from its eventual demise. Hariri was able to boost the economy and revive morale in the Sunni communities. By the 1990s Hariri was capable of governing Lebanon independent of Syria. This began a decline of Syrian support for him, and a decline of Sunni dominance. After Hariri’s assassination in 2005, Syria was able to grasp control of Lebanon once more, and enabled Hezbollah to demonstrate a larger role. First existing as a revolutionary Islamist movement,

Israel was not the only foreigner in Lebanon. The United Nations also, had French and American soldiers stationed in Lebanon as UN peacekeepers (Byers, 2003). This did not, please Hezbollah, who wanted all foreigners off Lebanese soil. On April 18, 1983, Hezbollah finally struck. A Hezbollah operative drove an explosive laden van into the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon killing sixty-three individuals (Byers). Encouraged by this success Hezbollah then struck again on October 23, 1986, using suicide bombers in vehicles to blow up both the U.S. Marine Barracks and the French Paratroop Barracks, killing 241 Americans and 58 French. By, February 26, 1984, just four months after the devastating attack on the Marine Barracks the United States pulled its forces out of Lebanon (Byers).

Mossad agent was alleged to have provided specific information regarding the attack; weakness Arab’s alliance with the US military intelligence. United States forces heightened security at the border especially checking out of weapons that were passing in and out of the barrack to make sure there were no further planned bombings (Thurman, 2011).The bombings in Beirut had caused many hazards including the loss of human life and the destruction of military facilities. For instance, 58 French soldiers were killed in the barracks just a few miles from the suicide bomb attacks. The 1983 suicide bombing which the terrorists used a van to carry the bomb, a total of 63 people died, including 17 Americans. The Lebanese bomb attack where a truck was used killed 241 marine, army personnel and navy. The truck was loaded with 18,000 pounds of explosive dynamite which not only killed US soldiers and services men, but also destroyed military buildings and compounds (Thurman, 2011).The United States of America launched investigation to find what really went wrong at the barracks under the Ronald Reagan’s