When Reagan fled Beirut after the '83 barracks bombing why didn't the terrorists "follow us home"

Question

and did this embolden the terrorists of today ?

Thorgirl...we were NOT under UN law...now make up a better excuse

Besides a few shellings, there was no serious retaliation for the Beirut bombing from the Americans. In December 1983, U.S. aircraft attacked Syrian targets in Lebanon, but this was in response to Syrian missile attacks on planes, not the barracks bombing.

In the meantime, the attack gave a boost to the growth of the new radical pro-Iranian Shi'ite organization Hezbollah. Hezbollah denied involvement in the attacks but was seen by Lebanese as involved nonetheless as it praised the "two martyr mujahidin" who "set out to inflict upon the U.S. Administration an utter defeat not experienced since Vietnam ..." [8] Hezbollah was now seen by many as "the spearhead of the sacred Muslim struggle against foreign occupation".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing

honeybee...they were armed, just not allowed to "lock & load" until engaged by the enemy...USMC policy in Beirut at the time

Philip L ...your conclusion has merit

Answer 1

While being a good source for general information do not fall into the trap of believing everything thats in Wikipedia.org, it is notorious for its inaccurate articles, and to easily tampered with.

If my memory serves me correct the US were in Lebanon as part of the Multi-National Force and had no connection to the U.N. force known as U.N.I.F.I.L.

The terrorist's were able to do much damage that day to the French (In the attack on the French barracks, 58 paratroopers were killed and 15 injured, in the single worst military loss for the French since the end of the Algerian war) and Americans, one of the main reason they managed to inflict so many casualties was the policy of the American troops, not having a loaded magazine on their weapons "as they did not want to project an aggressive attitude" to the locals!!!!!

However there are pictures from that time of the Marines patrolling the streets with a tank that has the name "Psyco" painted on the gun barrel.

As Lebanon had been involved in a vicious Civil War since 1975 after 8 years of conflict the locals were more than used to seeing armed persons on the streets.

One local Lebanese Christian Militia soldier when hearing what happened commented that weapons are for using, and not posing with.

Since 1978 the U.N. Mission (U.N.I.F.I.L) consisting of many soldiers from diverse nationalities had been in the country and all of these were armed with weapons.

Answer 2

They did. The bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut was but an early shot in the war. It took time for them to build and organize to the level they are today. Remember, The Ayatollah and his crowd were still getting organized in Iran. They had just come off holding our embassy personnel hostage for 444 days (thank you Jiminy Carter). They were just testing the waters. After that they were involved in numerous terrorist activities in Europe with hijackings of ships, planes and bombings.

Achille Lauro
Pan Am 747 Lockerbie
A US Navy sailor murdered by the Muslim terrorists who hijacked the plane he was on because he was carrying a US Navy ID. They beat him to death and dumped his body out the door of the plane at the airport were they were sitting.

There are literally dozens of high profile incidents and hundreds of smaller ones. Several high profile attacks alone during the Clinton years to include the World Trade Center, USS Cole, and the apartment complex in Saudi Arabia.

How old are you? If under the age of about 35, you probably don't remember much as you were too busy watching Barney. No fault of your own. You don't see any history of this mentioned in the main stream media. To many, Islamic Terrorism did not exist before 9-11.

Do a little research.

Answer 3

First off you obviously do not know your facts. Reagan was never in Iraq. The bombing that killed about 230 Marines was the single largest murder of US Marines in American history. Yes there were a few retaliatory air strikes made. More importantly were the convert operations made by the United States against the leaders of the barracks bombing and the two embassy bombings. The one line encyclopedia you cite as a source is not worth the time to read. Quote me a better source and I will give you a better answer.

Answer 4

There were a dozen other terrorist attacks and actions against U.S. civilian and military personnel in he mid-east and Europe after that barracks bombing until the end of Ronald Wilson Reagan's term of office. The source below is a time line with details of incidents dating back to the early 1960s, though some were not carried out by Salafist Jihadist groups.

Answer 5

because Ronald Reagan is brilliant. i might want to imagine that the individuals contained in the middle East halfway favourite that we did not stay there and reason more suitable havoc. And the Republicans won't be able to likely imagine Bush is smarter than Reagan... it really is ridiculous. The terrorists are doing away with on us what massive Daddy Bush and Clinton couldn't guard contained in the first position.

Answer 6

There are any number of reasons. Beirut was in a state of Chaos throughout the 1980's. The terrorist factions had their hands full just surving. It was Palestinian group versus Palestinian group. Pro-Syria versus Pro-Iran and so on. Then they fought Christian groups. Then there was the Israelis that occupied Beirut. Then the Syria also was enfluenced by the Soviet Union which probably for reasons of detente probably directed the Syrians not to allow it to go to US soil. So exporting terrorism to the USA was not practical at the time.

Answer 7

Because there's a circle of events here.

The US was operating as part of a UN action.

The UN is a worthless organization that practically loves the idea of the USA being destroyed. In spite of their "policies," the UN has been secretly involved with insurgencies and terrorists for a long time, but with their current Secretary General, they should be improving soon.

Ronald was too charismatic and too intelligent for the terrorists to try and attack US soil, so they instead waited several years, bombed embassies, and eventually the USS Cole, and a little while after that, al-Queda hijacked four airliners to ram into buildings.

Answer 8

maybe the 83 embassy bombing that happened April 18th in Beirut emboldened the terrorists...just 5 months before the barracks bombing...

Sept 20 1984...a repeat attack on the us embassy...

why would they "follow us home" they have a target in their own towns...

June 14 1985 TWA flight 847 hijacked...American Navy Diver the only person killed

the list continues...Why wouldn't they follow us home? Do you think they will stop if we hide within our porous borders?

Get real.......................oh wait they did follow us home

Jan 25 1993 Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, fires an AK-47 assault rifle into cars waiting at a stoplight in front of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, killing two and injuring three others

Feb 26 1993 World Trade Center bombing kills six and injures over 1000 people, by coalition of five groups: Jamaat Al-Fuqra'/Gamaat Islamiya/Hamas/Islamic Jihad/National Islamic Front

there are many more failed plots and several other significant attacks that i did not list......

Sept 11 2001....Have you forgotten?

Answer 9

Talk radio was still in development.
By the way do you remember first servicemen to get killed in that area was person disarming cluster bomb dropped by Israel.
If President Carter did not have to rely on military equipment produced during Nixon Adm. his rescue attempt may have worked. Do you really think the straight and courage he showed emboldens terrorist more than slim ball dealings of CIA Head Bush and President Regan.

Answer 10

Reagen was never in Beirut to flee from it, the Marines fled form Beirut, but Reagan was in D.C. He wa never in the Marine corps, maybe it was one of his old war films your thinking of there arm chair field marshall!