Beirut

Marine Corps barracks bombing 25 years ago today. 241 dead, almost all USMC. 58 French paratroopers died the same way, on the same day.

I don’t ascribe to the bombing the importance that neoconservatives have accorded it; Al Qaeda et al would have discovered other “evidence” of American “weakness” even if St. Reagan had kept us in Lebanon until 1989. But I do find the deification of Reagan by neoconservatives fascinating, especially in the context of the withdrawal from Lebanon, the ensuing Iran-Contra deal, and the arms control agreements with the Soviets. Neoconservatives deserve the scorn heaped upon them for their efforts to co-opt Wilson and Truman, but the fact that even Reagan substantially fails to live up to their standards too often goes unremarked…