Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983— - The Marine Commander Tells His Story Review

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Peacekeepers at War: Beirut 1983— - The Marine Commander Tells His Story ReviewThe 1983 experience of the U.S. Marines in Beirut brings to mind an 1852 experience of the Royal Marines aboard HMS Birkenhead when that ship was sinking and lacked adequate lifeboats for all aboard. In an effort to assure the safe debarkation of other passengers, the contingent of Royal Marines gave up their own claims to life preserving equipment and, instead, stood at attention on the topmost deck as the passengers were saved and the ship went down. It was a well-known story in the mid-19th century and is memorialized in Rudyard Kiplings' words, "To stand and be still to the Birkenhead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew." In 1983, the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit was placed by the department of state in an indefensible position at the Beirut Airport in the hope that their presence would somehow help bring to an end the brutal warfare that was tearing Lebanon to pieces. The plan blew up in their faces.
Colonel Timothy J. Geraghty was the commanding officer of the Marine Amphibious Unit. His story is well written and highly readable. It is written in a summary fashion that avoids getting bogged down in detail. The book contains 214 pages of text, plus appendices. The first two-thirds of the book cover the bombing and the investigative hearings that followed it. Thereafter, Colonel Geraghty discusses what he believes are the lessons learned from the tragedy; and he presents a primer of the individuals, groups and political activists in the Middle East.
This book is significant in that it adds another level to the story of the Beirut suicide bombing. Previous accounts did not present the commander's assessment of the situation, nor did they cover the communications between the field commander, the pentagon, the state department, and the president. Most of those records still are not available to members of the public. However, Geraghty tells of the situation reports that he sent regularly up the chain of command, outlining the increasing danger, the increasing casualties, and the increasing instances of combat. He tells of his recommendations to increase the security of his unit, and voices opposition to state department decisions that increased the danger of the situation. He also tells of the security briefings given to government officials who visited the 24th MAU shortly before the bombing. Unfortunately, the documentation that would show what consideration was given to those reports and recommendations are not yet available to historians. Along with Colonel Geraghty, we must guess at the reasons why his warnings and recommendations were rejected or ignored.
The book does a good job discrediting the two investigations that were conducted soon after the incident. Geraghty answers each of the charges in a logical and forceful manner. It appears that both investigations were political rushes to judgment, and placed blame on the commanding officers, with a token declaration that blame could be found all the way up the chain of command.
The book does have some difficulties. Too much of the text is devoted to tying the Beirut suicide bombing to the present-day problems in the Middle East. Too much emphasis is placed on statements of a District Court in a civil suit brought by the victims of the bombing, even though the court later ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to decide the case. That said, the factual statements of many of the trial witnesses constitute credible evidence in their own right and could have been used to reinforce the detailed description of the suicide bombing earlier in the text.
Colonel Geraghty's story leaves one wondering about the present gaps in the available information. Were Geraghty's warnings discussed at a higher level? If so, what were the reasons for continuing the status quo? What about the Congressional VIPs, what were their contemporaneous thoughts about the on-site briefings and the increasing danger they observed? Do we use the right words in describing the parties? Murderer? Terrorist? Insurgent? Radical? We used to call them "Kamikazes." Colonel Geraghty's strong desire for retaliation or retribution, or just plain justice, is understandable. Beirut was a damn tough bullet to chew.
This is an excellent book.
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