Ronald Reagan ( )

Transcription

1 Ronald Reagan ( )

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3 Message to the United States Marine Forces Participating in the Multinational Force in Beirut, Lebanon August 25, 1982 You are about to embark on a mission of great importance to our Nation and the free world. The conditions under which you carry out your vital assignment are, I know, demanding and potentially dangerous. You are tasked to be once again what Marines have been for more than 200 years -- peacemakers. Your role in the multi-national force -- along with that of your French and Italian counterparts -- is crucial to achieving the peace that is so desperately needed in this long-tortured city. I expect that you will perform with the traditional esprit and discipline for which the Marine Corps is renowned. Godspeed. Ronald Reagan

4 Statement on Signing the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Act of 1983 June 27, 1983 I am pleased to sign into law S. 639, the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Act of This act authorizes the appropriation of urgently needed economic and military assistance for Lebanon. The funding authorized by this act will greatly assist in promoting the economic and political stability of that country and support the international effort to strengthen a sovereign and independent Lebanon. Section 4(a) of the act confirms this administration's announced intention with respect to congressional authorization concerning any future substantial expansion in the number or role of U.S. forces in Lebanon. As indicated in its legislative history, that section does not prevent the initiation of such actions, if circumstances require it, while Congress is considering a request for statutory authorization; nor, of course, is it intended to infringe upon the constitutional authority of the President as Commander in Chief, particularly with respect to contingencies not expected in the context of the multinational effort to strengthen the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon. Note: As enacted, S. 639 is Public Law 98-43, approved June 27.

5 Address to the Nation on Events in Lebanon and Grenada October 27, 1983 My fellow Americans: Some 2 months ago we were shocked by the brutal massacre of 269 men, women, and children, more than 60 of them Americans, in the shooting down of a Korean airliner. Now, in these past several days, violence has erupted again, in Lebanon and Grenada. In Lebanon, we have some 1,600 marines, part of a multinational force that's trying to help the people of Lebanon restore order and stability to that troubled land. Our marines are assigned to the south of the city of Beirut, near the only airport operating in Lebanon. Just a mile or so to the north is the Italian contingent and not far from them, the French and a company of British soldiers. This past Sunday, at 22 minutes after 6 Beirut time, with dawn just breaking, a truck, looking like a lot of other vehicles in the city, approached the airport on a busy, main road. There was nothing in its appearance to suggest it was any different than the trucks or cars that were normally seen on and around the airport. But this one was different. At the wheel was a young man on a suicide mission. The truck carried some 2,000 pounds of explosives, but there was no way our marine guards could know this. Their first warning that something was wrong came when the truck crashed through a series of barriers, including a chain-link fence and barbed wire entanglements. The guards opened fire, but it was too late. The truck smashed through the doors of the headquarters building in which our marines were sleeping and instantly exploded. The four-story concrete building collapsed in a pile of rubble. More than 200 of the sleeping men were killed in that one hideous, insane attack. Many others suffered injury and are hospitalized here or in Europe. This was not the end of the horror. At almost the same instant, another vehicle on a suicide and murder mission crashed into the headquarters of the French peacekeeping force, an eight-story building, destroying it and killing more than 50 French soldiers. Prior to this day of horror, there had been several tragedies for our men in the multinational force. Attacks by snipers and mortar fire had taken their toll.

6 I called bereaved parents and/or widows of the victims to express on behalf of all of us our sorrow and sympathy. Sometimes there were questions. And now many of you are asking: Why should our young men be dying in Lebanon? Why is Lebanon important to us? Well, it's true, Lebanon is a small country, more than five-and-a-half thousand miles from our shores on the edge of what we call the Middle East. But every President who has occupied this office in recent years has recognized that peace in the Middle East is of vital concern to our nation and, indeed, to our allies in Western Europe and Japan. We've been concerned because the Middle East is a powderkeg; four times in the last 30 years, the Arabs and Israelis have gone to war. And each time, the world has teetered near the edge of catastrophe. The area is key to the economic and political life of the West. Its strategic importance, its energy resources, the Suez Canal, and the well-being of the nearly 200 million people living there all are vital to us and to world peace. If that key should fall into the hands of a power or powers hostile to the free world, there would be a direct threat to the United States and to our allies. A little over a year ago, hoping to build on the Camp David accords, which had led to peace between Israel and Egypt, I proposed a peace plan for the Middle East to end the wars between the Arab States and Israel. It was based on U.N. resolutions 242 and 338 and called for a fair and just solution to the Palestinian problem, as well as a fair and just settlement of issues between the Arab States and Israel. Before the necessary negotiations could begin, it was essential to get all foreign forces out of Lebanon and to end the fighting there. So, why are we there? Well, the answer is straightforward: to help bring peace to Lebanon and stability to the vital Middle East. To that end, the multinational force was created to help stabilize the situation in Lebanon until a government could be established and a Lebanese army mobilized to restore Lebanese sovereignty over its own soil as the foreign forces withdrew. Israel agreed to withdraw as did Syria, but Syria then reneged on its promise. Over 10,000 Palestinians who had been bringing ruin down on Beirut, however, did leave the country. I will not ask you to pray for the dead, because they're safe in God's loving arms and beyond

7 need of our prayers. I would like to ask you all -- wherever you may be in this blessed land to pray for these wounded young men and to pray for the bereaved families of those who gave their lives for our freedom. God bless you, and God bless America.

8 Radio Address to the Nation on the Situation in Lebanon December 10, 1983 My fellow Americans: I'd like to talk to you today about the deep desire we all share to bring peace to Lebanon. These past several weeks have brought bitter tragedy and sorrow to all of us. The loss of even one of our splendid young Americans is an enormous price to pay. The number of dead and wounded is a terrible burden of grief for all Americans. It's un-imaginably more so for the families who have lost a father, husband, a son, or a brother. Their deaths are testimony to the savage hatreds and greedy ambitions which have claimed so many innocent Lebanese lives. The human toll in Lebanon is staggering. Lebanon s losses since 1975 would be comparable to the United States losing 10 million of its citizens. What conceivable reason can there be for this wanton death and destruction? Lebanon s suffering began long before a single marine arrived. In the early 1970's many thousands of Palestinians entered Lebanon. Lebanon s fragile political consensus collapsed, and a savage civil war broke out. The Palestinians also had a military, the armed PLO. Trained in terrorist tactics by Soviet-bloc nations and Libya, the PLO joined the civil war and attacked Israeli targets, villages and schools across the border between Lebanon and Israel. In the midst of all this, Syria was asked to intervene and stop the civil war. In the process, it occupied a large part of Lebanon. However, Syria did nothing to control terrorism against Israel's northern border. Israel decided to neutralize the PLO and, in June 1982, mounted a full-scale invasion across the border. This resulted in another major round of fighting between Syria, the PLO, and Israel. Shelling and bombing pounded Beirut. Thousands more died. We negotiated a cease-fire and then joined the multinational force at the request of the Lebanese Government to make possible the peaceful separation of the forces. This is the second time in 25 years that we have come to support the Lebanese Government in restoring peace.

9 In 1958 President Eisenhower used a bipartisan congressional resolution to send 8,000 American soldiers and marines to Lebanon. When order was restored, our military came home. But in 1958 there were no occupying foreign armies, and there was no Soviet presence in Syria. Today, there are more than 7,000 Soviet military advisers and technicians. In September 1982 I offered a plan to bring peace to the region. It called for a just solution to the Palestinian problem as well as a reasonable settlement of issues between the Arab States and Israel. Success in Lebanon is central to sustaining the broader peace process. We have vital interests in the Middle East which depend on peace and stability in that region. Indeed, the entire world has vital interests there. The region is central to the economic vitality of the Western World. If we fail in Lebanon, what happens to the prospects for peace, not just in Lebanon but between Israel and her neighbors and in the entire Middle East? Once internal stability is established and withdrawal of all foreign forces is assured, the marines will leave. But because we care about human values for ourselves, so must we be concerned when freedom, justice, and liberty are abused elsewhere. That's the moral basis which brought our marines to Lebanon. We have acted with great restraint despite repeated provocations and murderous attacks. Our reconnaissance flights have only one purpose, and the Syrians know it: to give the greatest possible protection to our troops. We will continue to do whatever is needed to ensure the safety of our forces and our reconnaissance flights. The peace process is slow and painful, but there is progress which would not have been possible without the multinational force. Last May with our help the Governments of Lebanon and Israel negotiated an agreement providing for the withdrawal of Israeli forces. In September when the Israelis pulled back their forces from the Shuf Mountains near Beirut, Lebanese attempts to extend their authority into this area were met by violent opposition from forces supported by Syria. We will redouble our diplomatic efforts to promote reconciliation and achieve withdrawal of all foreign forces. At a recent meeting in Geneva all the Lebanese parties agreed to recognize the present government as the legitimate representative of the Lebanese people. Talks have begun to broaden the base of the government and to satisfy the legitimate grievances of all the people.

10 My special envoy, Ambassador Don Rumsfeld, has returned to the region and will continue trying to move the peace process forward on all fronts. Lebanon s agony must end. Today is the 35th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Lebanese people are struggling for their human rights. We call upon everyone involved to give that birthright back to the Lebanese. Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you. Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. from Camp David, Md.

11 Statement on Diplomatic Talks With the Palestine Liberation Organization December 14, 1988 The Palestine Liberation Organization today issued a statement in which it accepted United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, recognized Israel's right to exist, and renounced terrorism. These have long been our conditions for a substantive dialog. They have been met. Therefore, I have authorized the State Department to enter into a substantive dialog with PLO representatives. The Palestinian Liberation Organization must live up to its statements. In particular, it must demonstrate that its renunciation of terrorism is pervasive and permanent. The initiation of a dialog between the United States and PLO representatives is an important step in the peace process, the more so because it represents the serious evolution of Palestinian thinking towards realistic and pragmatic positions on the key issues. But the objective of the United States remains, as always, a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. In that light, we view this development as one more step toward the beginning of direct negotiations between the parties, which alone can lead to such a peace. The United States special commitment to Israel's security and well-being remains unshakable. Indeed, a major reason for our entry into this dialog is to help Israel achieve the recognition and security it deserves. Other Resources: Reagan on Lebanon strategy D103.pdf Reagan withdraws troops from Lebanon D92.pdf Regan Lebanon decision D64.pdf