Standing Firm in Lebanon

Publication Date: October 1983

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): James A. Phillips

Research Area: International relations

Keywords: Middle East

Type: Report

Coverage: Lebanon

Abstract:

American troops were dispatched to Lebanon as part of the multinational peacekeeping force in the wake of the 1982 Israeli intervention. Their mission was to facilitate the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) forces from Beirut and to shore up the authority of the new Lebanese government. The deaths of over 200 American Marines in Lebanon focuses attention on the role of the MNF in general and the Marines in particular. Although the War Powers issue has been sidestepped through the prudent compromise reached by the Reagan Administration and members of Congress, American policy in Lebanon remains a subject of strong debate.