Lebanon occupation
The "Lebanon occupation" primarily refers to the U.S. military intervention in Lebanon during the 1958 civil conflict. This period marked a significant chapter in Lebanon's history, characterized by its unique multicultural society and a complex political landscape influenced by religious affiliations. Established through the National Pact, Lebanon's government aimed to reflect its diverse population, with power shared among various religious groups, including Christians and Muslims. However, rising tensions emerged as Western involvement and internal disputes intensified, culminating in a civil war driven by fears of losing national sovereignty and the desire for greater Arab unity, inspired by leaders like Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
In response to escalating violence and a request for aid from President Camille Shamun, U.S. Marines were deployed, marking a notable moment in Cold War geopolitics. The intervention, described as a stabilizing force, was intended to quell the rebellion and support the existing government. Although the U.S. forces engaged minimally during their presence, the occupation had lasting implications, contributing to regional tensions and increasing resentment among Arab nationalists. Ultimately, the aftermath of this intervention set the stage for further unrest, leading to a protracted and devastating Lebanese civil war beginning in 1975.
Lebanon occupation
The Event Deployment of U.S. Marines to Lebanon to stabilize a rebel uprising
Date July-September, 1958
The U.S. invasion of Lebanon was the first test of the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, a Cold War treatise that asserted the right of the United States to assist Middle Eastern countries against armed aggression from any country controlled by international communism.
During the 1950’s, Lebanon was one of the most Western-oriented and modernized states in the Middle East. Its women had the vote and its capital, Beirut, was a cosmopolitan economic center of both the Middle East and Mediterranean. Lebanon was an anomaly in the Arab world in many ways. Its society and government were remarkable examples of multicultural pluralism as evidenced by Muslims and Christians living together peacefully.
An agreement known as the National Pact stipulated that members of Lebanon’s Chamber of Deputies, elected for four-year terms, were proportionally represented by both religion and region to reflect the nation’s 1932 census. Furthermore, the president was required to be a Maronite Christian, representing the largest Christian sect in Lebanon; the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, representing the second largest Muslim sect; and the speaker of the Chamber a Shia Muslim, representing the largest Muslim sect. Nevertheless, Christians, despite no longer being the majority in population, held the majority of the wealth and positions of power and tended to espouse Western perspectives.
In contrast, many Lebanese Muslims and Druze (a religious group considered to be Muslim but which includes elements of paganism and Christianity) identified more with their Arab heritage. They were outraged when the Maronite Christian president Camille Shamun did not break off diplomatic ties with France and Britain when they, along with Israel, invaded Egypt in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. Then, in 1957, rumored Western interference in the Chamber of Deputies election raised further fears about the country’s autonomy. By 1958, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser had become wildly popular to many in the Arab world. Arab communities hoped that Egypt’s uniting with Syria to form the United Arab Republic in early 1958 heralded the formation of a unified state strong enough to counteract interference from their former colonial rulers as well as perceived threats from Israel.
Eager to see their country join the new republic, Muslim and Druze rebels began a civil war to oust President Shamun. Although Shamun’s six-year term of office was almost up, rebels feared he would try illegally to succeed himself instead of stepping down. These fears were based upon the results of the disputed 1957 election, when Shamun’s followers gained enough seats in the Chamber of Deputies to win a possible vote to overturn the constitution’s prohibition on second presidential terms. Tensions continued to mount when an anti-Shamun editor of an opposition newspaper was assassinated. On July 14, the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown, and the entire pro-Western royal family was executed. In Lebanon, some radio stations began broadcasting forecasts that Shamun was next in line to be killed.
American Marines Arrive
General Fuad Shihab, commander of the Lebanese army, refused to obey presidential orders to attack the rebels because he believed that many in the army would mutiny or desert if he ordered them into action. Reflecting the pluralism of the rest of Lebanon’s government, the army was made up of mostly Christian officers and Muslim regulars. Helpless to oppose the rebels and believing the independence of Lebanon to be threatened, President Shamun summoned the American, British, and French ambassadors to ask for their nations’ assistance in quelling the rebellion; he claimed it was being supplied with Soviet arms by the Syrians. He also invoked the Eisenhower Doctrine, a policy pledging American support to defend any government threatened by communist subversion, which Lebanon had endorsed the year before.
Ten hours later, the U.S. responded by mobilizing the Sixth Fleet to prevent an invasion by Syria. On July 16, five thousand Marines initiated an unopposed landing on the beaches of Beirut, wading ashore through beach umbrellas and sunbathers. Troops remained until the presidential succession was settled. Shamun did not seek reelection, and on July 31, General Shihab, widely admired for his levelheaded handling of the military situation, was elected president. By the time of Shihab’s inauguration on September 23, the situation had stabilized, and U.S. forces began their departure. During the three months of U.S involvement, American forces did not engage in active combat. Only one U.S. battle death occurred, and U.S. troops inflicted no civilian casualties.
Impact
The Lebanon invasion proved to the world how quickly U.S. troops could be mobilized in the event of a foreign policy crisis. American policy makers responded to the pleas of Lebanon’s president with alacrity, arguably more in reaction to the revolution then developing in Iraq than to the rebellion in Lebanon. However, some diplomats also warned that a U.S. troop presence in the region would instigate a second Suez crisis or a war with the Soviet Union. While U.S. resolve was not tested in action, the U.S. military proved to allies such as Turkey and Iran that the United States could act quickly to support its allies in the event of a threatened communist insurrection. However, U.S. support for President Shamun, in combination with increasing economic and military aid to Israel, further alienated Arab nationalists.
Subsequent Events
In all, between two thousand and four thousand lives were lost during the Lebanese civil war. President Shihab attempted to reunite Lebanon by instituting reforms favorable to Muslims and other minorities. Although an uneasy peace was maintained for some years, underlying internal and external tensions exacerbated by the influx of Palestinian refugees led to a bloody civil war in 1975 and the chaos that was to follow.
Bibliography
Alin, Erika G. The United States and the 1958 Lebanon Crisis: American Intervention in the Middle East. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1994. Details the U.S. invasion, its aftermath, and consequences for U.S. Middle East policy.
Gordon, David C. The Republic of Lebanon: Nation in Jeopardy. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1983. Survey of Lebanon’s history, economy, social structure, and politics, and French, British, Palestinian, Israeli, and American interventions and influences.
Hahn, Peter L. Caught in the Middle East: U.S. Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1945-1961. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Details the strategic, diplomatic, political, and cultural factors that influenced American policies in the Middle East during the 1950’s.
Picard, Elizabeth. Lebanon: A Shattered Country: Myths and Realities of the Wars in Lebanon. Translated by Franklin Philip. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1996. Lucid explanation of factors that transformed a prosperous, peaceful, multiethnic society into a combat zone.
Yaqub, Salim. Containing Arab Nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Uses recently declassified Egyptian, British, and American archival sources to examine Eisenhower’s efforts to counter Nasser’s appeal throughout the Arab Middle East.