The Lebanese Civil War was a 15-year conflict that took the lives of more than 130,000 people. Throughout the early 1970s, divisions between Christian Maronites and Palestinians began to deepen and soon escalated into all-out war. While the war was largely a struggle between these two groups, the violence soon affected the U.S. On June 16, 1976, recently appointed Ambassador Frank Meloy, along with Economic Counselor Robert Waring, were traveling to meet with the Lebanese president when they were kidnapped by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both Meloy and Waring, along with the driver, were killed. (At right, President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger at the arrival ceremony.)
George Lambrakis was Deputy Chief of Mission in Beirut from 1975 to 1976. In these excerpts from his oral history, Lambrakis discusses the civil war, the events leading up to and surrounding the assassination, as well as the proposed plans for a U.S. invasion and the evacuation of personnel. Lambrakis was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy in June 2002. Talcott Seelye joined the Foreign Service in 1948 and was temporary representative to the Lebanese president after the assassination of Ambassador Meloy. He was interviewed in 1995 by Charles Stuart Kennedy. The two interviewees had slightly different views as to why Ambassador Meloy and Robert Waring were killed. Read accounts of the Embassy Beirut bombing by the ambassador and a consular officer.
Read Full Article »