The Marine Peacekeepers Bombing in Beirut, Lebanon
The U.S. Marines were conducting one of the first modern peacekeeping missions in the war torn city of Beirut, Lebanon from 1982-1984. It ended up costing the United States a combined total of 241 Marines, Sailors, and Army warriors and was the highest death toll from a single terrorist act until the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington and a field in Pennsylvania. To understand the full context in which the Marine and Navy commanders found themselves, we must understand the mission statement and the context in which their senior political and military leadership provided it. We must also consider the operational environment the Multinational Peacekeeping force had to implement their mission. The outside influence of Syria and Iran would also play a role in the bombing from both a military and political element and would signal a new dynamic of terrorism in the whole world, as we know it. The tragic Marine peacekeepers barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon during the 1983 Multinational Peacekeeping Mission resulted from an ill-defined mission statement. Today’s contemporary peacekeeping missions necessitate clarity and flexibility in their mission statements
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Almost every chain of command confirmed the Marine interpretation for their peacekeeping mission, and Congress validated it during congressional hearings. In his, book Peacekeepers at war: Beirut 1983-the marine commander tells his story (2009), Colonel Geraghty states many times that what he believed to be the Marines most important function related to the peacekeeping mission was to; provide both a visible presence in support of the LAF and stability for the government of Lebanon (Geraghty, 2009). Equally important is the task of defining how a peacekeeping force works with the host nations individual, political, military, and civilian operational
The Marine Corps today has developed itself into an elite fighting force based on strong naval traditions. The basic Marine is amphibious, which means that the warrior is capable of fighting on land and sea. The idea of an amphibious landing was developed through the training of the Marine Raider Battalions, which was tested and perfected in combat. Although there were two Raider Commanders with very different views on how to prepare their marines, Evans Carlson and Merritt Edson were responsible for training lightly armed Marines for amphibious assaults.
Canadians strongly believe that peacekeeping is about trying to protect people from extreme harm, a way of providing hope in situations that seem hopeless, and a good method of bringing peace and justice to war-torn countries or failed states. Canadians backing soldiers in their peacekeeping role has been so strong for such a long time that it has generated into their national identity. “Canadians cling to the mythology, born of the 1956 Suez Crisis, that we are a nation of peacekeepers, interposing between belligerent forces bent on war but, even though Canadian government officials and media of the 1990s called the operations in Bosnia and Somalia “peacekeeping missions,” they were something very different from Cold War-era peacekeeping.” Accordingly, over the past several decades, Canadian peacekeeping operations involving their military forces has shifted from a Pearson perspective based on humanitarian intervention to peacekeeping missions entailing massive violence. Therefore, my research paper will focus on how peacekeeping in the Canadian context has changed over the past several decades owing to the Canadian use of its military (internationally) force for extreme violence during peacekeeping missions. I wish to discuss this topic extensively within my research paper by focusing on vivid examples from UN Peacekeeping missions.
Desert Storm was a part of the Gulf War, Desert Storm was a codenamed Operation to get Iraq soldiers out of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. This was the first foreign crisis that the U.S. got involved in since the Cold war. It was because of saddam Hussein. Saddam ordered his Iraqi army to cross the border to Kuwait. This wasn’t some random attack by Iraq. but instead Iraq had been preparing for this for years, they knew what they were doing and were heavily equipped with weapons.
Being a Marine means being apart of something bigger than yourself. Being a Marine means giving up selfishness for selflessness.”The Marines is a family that looks after its own in every way. Those who stand by you in battle will never leave your side.” -Marines.com. Being a Marine means being a warrior. When a Marine says Semper Fidelis, it means he/she will always be faithful to the corps, their family and friends, and their brothers and sisters fighting by his/her side. A Marine lives up to the core values honor,courage, and commitment. A Marine will give up their life for their fellow Marines, family and country without hesitation. The formal definition of a Marine is to be apart of the Marine Corps, the military, but it is so much more. Being a Marine means being apart of a brotherhood/sisterhood.
There is always that one person that stirs the pot in a situation that could have been solved rather quickly without them interfering. This is exactly what happened in Syria. The Syrian Civil War began when a peaceful protest when a group of teenagers who were writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. Syrian people called on their president who instead of making democratic reforms, acted in extreme violence against unarmed civilians. More than a quarter of a million people in Syria have been killed and over 10 million have been forced out of their homes. The Assad regime continues to suppress their citizens and they have begun using chemical bombs to kill thousands of Syrians and many even
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This George Santayana quote speaks volumes about what should be taken into consideration when making a decision with a lot riding on it. If nothing else, this quote serves as the proper bridge, or connection, between Robert McNamara’s Eleven Lessons in “The Fog of War” and the ongoing conflict in Libya. In “The Fog of War”, Robert McNamara breaks down 11 vital lessons he learned about war from the Vietnam War. When looking at the current Libyan situation, these lessons can be similarly applied, and thus avoid any potentially costly mistakes like the ones made in Vietnam. McNamara himself has stated that those particular 11 lessons were intended to be applied to war in its most general meaning. However, some lessons are certainly more applicable than others. The four lessons in particular that stand out are, “empathize with your enemy”, “proportionality should be a guideline to war”, “belief and seeing are both often wrong” and “be prepared to re-examine your reasoning.” These four lessons need to be applied in Libya to ensure that history’s mistakes are not needlessly repeated.
In the month of April 2004, in the city of Habbaniyah, Iraq, a brutal and terrible act took place which ignited one of the bloodiest battles in the history of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Four Black Water security members were killed and publicly maimed. The resulting battle left a high casualty rate as well as hundreds of American service members being wounded. This is the story of the events that took place after the events in the city of Habbaniyah. On the 31st of March, 2004, a convoy was attacked.
On November 10, 1775 the Second Continental Congress established what was to become one of America’s greatest traditions. This signing ignited the founding of the continental Marines; the two battalions with which it was to be made of was led by Captain Samuel Nicholas. On land, sea, and air; the Marine Corps has always been an unstoppable force. The only purpose the Marines had during the early existence of it was to mount ships. They were the one jumping from ship to ship like pirates, disabling enemy naval forces. However, Marines became specialized in amphibious assaults during both World War I and World W...
The second characteristic of professionalism is responsibility. General responsibility creates the moral responsibility of marines and helps us understand the set of values which guide us. In addition, however, marines must also possess the values of other human beings and question service to a society which does not respect these values. These values include justice, common courtesy, human dignity and humbleness. A government which does not respect these values is illegitimate and cannot be said to serve the society it directs. In the case of United States marines, the values of the United States must be examined in the context of the military profession. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution provide clear statements of these values and Ethics. Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values. Values are core beliefs such as honor, courage, and commitment that motivate attitudes and actions. Not all values...
As a Marine, it is imperative to have leadership skills along with being capable of working with others. This book was written to enhance the reader’s mentality of how the Marines operate. It informs those who are looking into the service, and provides an in depth look into the trials and tribulations it has been through—as well as conquered. This book substantially explains the vigorous training platoon 3086 went through in order to earn the title of being a Marine.
It can be traced back that Thomas Hobbes first formulated the idea of deterrence. Advocates of deterrence theory “believe that people choose to obey or violate the law after calculating the gains and consequences of their actions” (Onwudiwe, Odo, Onyeozili). Essentially, as stated above, individuals will engage in crime when the benefit of the crime outweighs the cost of committing the crime (punishment). Personally, I believe that individuals that are part of the Operation Ceasefire end their “street days” because they are mostly scared of the harsh consequences that will follow if they continue to engage in a life of crime. Operation Ceasefire may align well with theories such as deterrence theory, but maybe not so much with others. When
On October 24, 1945 the United Nations was established as a means of preserving global peace after the Second World War. Launching with 51 member states the organizations began on a healthy platform with the United States having an active role in its promotion of international co-operation. However, during the cold war the organization began to experience a plethora of new challenges which primarily involved armed conflicts throughout the world. It soon became apparent that to maintain the peace and effectively deal with dangerous conflicts, the member states would be required to go beyond the Security Council. In 1956 the UN implemented the Peace Process Initiative as a means to ambitiously combat the Suez Crisis, thus creating the world’s first peacekeeping force. With this being the first peacekeeping mission ever deployed by the United Nations, it was met with a significant learning curve as many of the soldiers were given dated equipment, and did not have the means to maintain stability due to lack of funds from each of their respective member states. Though there has been a significant evolution of peacekeeping, with many new monitoring functions, the UN has yet to incorporate technologies into its operations thus far. As observers, technology allows for coverage to be made at a safe distance, providing a greater means of information and security for peacekeeping forces and civilian personnel. Technology can also aid in the progression of peacekeeping operations, as monitoring technologies allow for greater observation, while helping to diminish a feeling of intrusiveness. To advance peacekeeping, operations must be provided with the appropriate technological assets in order to effectively maintain peace throughout the world...
The complex issue of humanitarian intervention is widely argued and inherently controversial. Humanitarian intervention involves the coercive action of states intervening in areas for the sole purpose of preventing or halting the killing or suffering of the people there. (1, 9, 5) It is an issue argued fervently amongst restrictionists and counter-restrictionists, who debate over whether humanitarian intervention is a breach of international law or a moral requirement. (10) Restrictionists argue that Articles 2 (7) and 2 (4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter render forcible humanitarian intervention illegal. The only legitimate exception to this, they claim, is the right to self defence, as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. (1-472) This position is contested by counter-restrictionists, who insist that any and all nations have the right, and the responsibility, to prevent humanitarian disasters. (8-5) Despite the declaration of a ‘new world order’, the post-Cold war world has not been a more peaceful one: regional and ethnic conflicts have, in fact, proliferated. Between 1989 and 1993, for example, thirteen new peacekeeping operations were launched by th...
1. What is the difference between a. and a. Write a summary of “Baghdad Express” in 150 words. The short film "Baghdad Express" presents us to Maya, a young girl who works in her father’s restaurant. We meet her walking towards an interview that possibly could result in her being accepted to a fashion school by getting a scholarship. To get in would fulfill Maya’s greatest desire of working in the fashion industry, and her friends Talal and Louise are both encouraging her to achieve her dream.
The amount of corruption within the United States’ violent involvement in the Middle East is almost unreal. Unfortunately, the wars have been too real—half a million deaths in the first year of Iraqi Freedom alone (Rogers). These wars have been labeled--the violence, filtered-- to fit a specific agenda. Whether the deaths are deemed an acceptable loss in the name of national security, or as a devastating injustice, the reality doesn’t change. Lives have been lost. Lives that will never be brought back. The intention of wars is in part due to attacks on the twins towers on September 11th 2001. When the buildings fell, almost three thousand people died, according