Words to Live By: Walking on a Tightrope – The Middle East

Today, the subject is the Middle East. And after years of struggling to find peace and end terrorism in that region, Ronald Reagan characterized the challenges by saying, “it was like walking on a tightrope.” From 1982 to 1991, over thirty U.S. and other Western hostages were kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some were killed, some died in captivity, and some were eventually released.

Specifically, the year 1983 brought new and complex challenges to President Reagan’s doorstep. In Beirut, Lebanon, our U.S. embassy was destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack on April 18th when a one half ton pickup truck laden detonated its load of 2000 pounds of TNT…63 died, including 17 Americans. Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. It was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission to date, and changed the way the U.S. Department of State secured its resources and executed its missions overseas.

Six months later, on October 23rd in Beirut, Shiite suicide bombers exploded a truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut. Then in Kuwait City on December 12, Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80. That’s just the Middle East…the subject of today’s podcast. And we’ll focus on the attack 40 years ago in Beirut.

First, let’s read an excerpt from President Reagan’s radio address to the American people on April 23, 1983:

“My fellow Americans:

“In a few hours I’ll undertake one of the saddest journeys of my Presidency. I’ll be going to Andrews Air Force Base to meet one of our Air Force planes bringing home 16 Americans who died this week in the terrorist attack on the United States Embassy in Beirut.

“I undertake this task in great sadness, but also with a tremendous sense of pride in those who sacrificed their lives in our country’s efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and spare others the agony of war. Greater love hath no man. The courage and the dedication of these men and women reflect the best tradition of our Foreign Service, our Armed Forces, and the other departments and agencies whose personnel serve our nation overseas, often in situations of great personal danger.

“We don’t know yet who bears responsibility for this terrible deed. What we do know is that the terrorists who planned and carried out this cynical and cowardly attack have failed in their purpose. They mistakenly believe that if they’re cruel enough and violent enough, they will weaken American resolve and deter us from our effort to help build a lasting and secure peace in the Middle East. Well, if they think that, they don’t know too much about America. As a free people, we’ve never allowed intimidation to stop us from doing what we know to be right. The best way for us to show our love and respect for our fellow countrymen who died in Beirut this week is to carry on with their task, to press harder than ever with our peacemaking efforts, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

The blast that destroyed the embassy devastated the structure. The facing wall of the building had been sheared away in the blast, and the front rooms had collapsed in an avalanche of rubble. Oddly, only portions of the topmost floor of the eight story building held in the explosion, sticking out like the ledge of a cliff over the slide of wreckage below.

Let’s continue with President Reagan’s speech:

“More than ever, we’re committed to giving the people of Lebanon the chance they deserve to lead normal lives, free from violence and free from the presence of all unwanted foreign forces on their soil. And we remain committed to the Lebanese Government’s recovery of full sovereignty throughout all its territory.

“When I spoke after the bombing to Lebanon’s President Gemayel, he expressed his people’s deepest regret and revulsion over this wanton act of terrorism. I in turn assured him that the tragic events of this week had only served to strengthen America’s steadfastness as a force for peace in his country and the Middle East. To this end, I’ve asked Secretary of State George Shultz to leave tomorrow night for the Middle East. Secretary Shultz will now add his personal efforts to continue the magnificent work begun by Ambassadors Phil Habib and Morris Draper, bringing about the earliest possible withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon in a way that will promote peace and security in this troubled region.

“The scenes of senseless tragedy in Beirut this week will remain etched in our memories forever. But along with the tragedy, there were inspiring moments of heroism. We will not forget the pictures of Ambassador Dillon and his staff, Lebanese as well as Americans, many of them swathed in bandages, bravely searching the devastated embassy for their colleagues and for other innocent victims.

“We will not forget the image of young marines gently draping our nation’s flag over the broken body of one of their fallen comrades. We will not forget their courage and compassion, and we will not forget their willingness to sacrifice even their lives for the service of their country and the cause of peace.

“Yes, we Americans can be proud of these fine men and women. And we can be even prouder that our country has been playing such a unique and indispensable role in the Middle East, a role no other single nation could play. When the countries of the region want help in bringing peace, we’re the ones they’ve turned to. That’s because they trust us, because they know that America is both strong and just, both decent and dedicated. Even in the shadow of this terrible tragedy in Beirut, that is something to remember and draw heart from. It is also something to be true to.

“I know I speak for all Americans when I reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to our country’s most precious heritage -- serving the cause of peace and freedom in the world. What better monument than that could we build for those who gave their all that others might live in peace.

“Until next week, thank you, and God bless you.”

What about Hezbollah that served as the most successful, and the most deadly, export of the 1979 Iranian revolution? Hezbollah emerged during the chaos of Lebanon’s civil war. As Lebanese factions, Palestinians, Israelis, Syrians, and various proxy powers destroyed the country, the ground was fertile for Iran’s post-1979 revolutionary leaders to demonstrate that their example could be replicated in the Arab world, by exploiting long-standing grievances of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim underclass.

In the complicated balance of multi-faceted system adopted in 1943 upon Lebanon’s independence, government positions were allocated according to religious sect. These are apportioned by the demographic weight of each group as reflected in a now wildly outdated 1932 census that, given the political implications for Lebanon’s shrinking Christian population, has never been updated. Thus, the president of the republic is held by a Maronite Christian, the prime minister comes from the Sunni Muslims, the speaker of the parliament must be Shiite Muslim, and so forth. Originally, government positions and parliamentary seats were divided in a 6-5 ratio favoring Christians over Muslims, then amended to 50-50.

Allocations aside, Lebanon’s Maronite-Sunni elite tended to treat the Shiites with disdain and neglect. There was much unrest among the various? Lebanese factions, providing the Iranian mullahs with a perfect stage on which to export their revolutionary drama: They had all the elements necessary…remember, there was an increasingly disliked Western coalition on the ground; a brutal Israeli occupation and victimized Palestinians in squalid camps; the distracting chaos of an on-going civil war; and—most importantly—an alienated and despised Shiite population desperate for political and economic salvation and security. Hezbollah’s initial manifesto called for the establishment of an Iran-style Islamic republic in Lebanon. They became notorious internationally for its methods of simultaneous suicide attacks and for its hostage-taking.

And so, history documents their brutality in the 80’s. But let’s get back to April 1983…Just five days after the bombing, the President spoke at 6:44 p.m. at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The ceremony followed the return to the United States of the bodies of the 16 Americans who were killed in the bombing. Let’s read President Reagan’s remarks at a ceremony honoring the victims of the bombing of the US Embassy.

“There can be no sadder duty for one who holds the office I hold than to pay tribute to Americans who have given their lives in the service of their country. I extend also the condolences of ourselves and our people, through Ambassador Turk, to the families of our loyal Lebanese employees who perished in this tragic event along with their American colleagues.

“You here today, the families of these honored dead, I want you to know I speak for all Americans when I say that we share your sorrow and offer you our heartfelt sympathy. We are in your debt and theirs. Your loved ones served their country with talent and energy, courage and commitment. With your sorrow you must feel at the same time a pride -- pride in their dedication. And we, your fellow citizens, share in that, also.

“These gallant Americans understood the danger they faced, and yet they went willingly to Beirut. And the dastardly deed, the act of unparalleled cowardice that took their lives, was an attack on all of us, on our way of life and on the values we hold dear. We would indeed fail them if we let that act deter us from carrying on their mission of brotherhood and peace.

“It is written, ``Blessed be the peacemakers.’’ And they truly were peacemakers. They knew the road they traveled was hard and fraught with peril. They walked that road with cool professionalism and a deep sense of purpose. They knew at firsthand how an afflicted mankind looks to us for help -- with faith in our strength, our sense of justice, and our decency. And that is the America that your loved ones exemplified. Let our monument to their memory be a preservation of that America.

“Let us here in their presence serve notice to the cowardly, skulking barbarians in the world that they will not have their way. Let us dedicate ourselves to the cause of those loved ones, the cause they served so nobly and for which they sacrificed their lives, the cause of peace on Earth and justice for all mankind.

“We thank God for them. And God bless you.”

#History #RonaldReagan #Marines #Peace