MY SAY: A TALE OF TWO PRESIDENTS
I still admire and respect the legacy and achievements of President Ronald Reagan, widely hailed as the best Republican President in recent history. What was the response of President Ronald Reagan to the terrorist bombing of the United States Marine barracks in 1983?
On October 23, 1983 a suicide bomber detonated a truck bomb at a building serving as barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Battalion Landing Team – BLT 1/8) of the 2nd Marine Division, killing 220 Marines, 18 sailors and 3 soldiers, making this incident the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States in peacetime. It was no secret that the attack had been carried out by Hezbollah.
Furthermore the evacuation of the wounded was poorly organized and executed. Trauma centers in Israel, arguably the best in the world and in Cyprus were minutes away by helicopter, but instead transports took them to Europe base hospitals several hours away. A Pentagon commission many years later was critical of those decisions.
Three-and-a-half months after the bombing and after repeatedly pledging not to do so —President Reagan ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Lebanon. Reagan never retaliated against Hezbollah or their Iranian and Syrian sponsors responsible for the bombings, a position widely endorsed by senior military officials. That’s called cut and run.
President Donald Trump did not do that…..rsk
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