Forty years ago, a suicide bomber in an explosive-laden truck breached the Beirut International Airport and detonated their bomb, killing 241 American troops — mostly from the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit — who had deployed to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force during the country's civil war.
On Monday, top military officials who gathered in Jacksonville, North Carolina, to mark the anniversary of the 1983 bombing noted the parallels between the Beirut attack and what is shaping up to be a new and tumultuous chapter in the Middle East following the outbreak of war between israel and Hamas.
Two aircraft carrier strike groups and military units, including the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, have been deployed to the region to support israel and deter others such as Iran and Hezbollah from entering the conflict. U.S. troops have already faced an uptick in attacks in Iraq and Syria, and as more forces move into the region, officials fear further strikes.
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“In 1983, the Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 1/8 were deployed to Lebanon on a peacekeeping mission to be a friend to the Lebanese people and bring about a semblance of stability to a region marked by decades of conflict,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said.
“Does that sound familiar?” he said during the event, which…
