The Lessons of Beirut. Testimony Before the Long Commission

Abstract

The attack on the Marine Headquarters in Beirut conforms to several trends in international terrorism: It was an attack calculated to cause heavy casualties. It involved the use of a vehicle loaded with explosives. There is a high probability that the attack was instigated by a government. The attack raises a number of difficult questions: How can the Marines in Lebanon or other American forces in similar situations be protected against further terrorist attacks? Who was responsible for the attack? And if we can identify who was ultimately responsible, what response, if any, is appropriate? This paper briefly reviews some of the recent trends in terrorism and examines the implications of growing international terrorism for the U.S. military.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA153072

Entities

People

  • B. M. Jenkins

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Counter WMD
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Assassination
  • Casualties
  • Government (Foreign)
  • Governments
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Human Intelligence
  • Local Governments
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Training
  • United States
  • Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Military Science
  • Strategic Security Studies