Caspar Weinberger Oral History Interview Excerpt

Caspar Weinberger Oral History Interview Excerpt


Caspar Weinberger discusses the 1983 Beirut bombing and its effects on President Reagan.
 

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(Stephen Knott): Could you comment on the Marines in Beirut and that operation? Since that-
(Caspar Weinberger): Well, that's one of my saddest memories. I was not persuasive enough to persuade the President that the Marines were there with an impossible mission. They were very lightly armed. They were not permitted to take the high ground in front of them or the flanks on either side. They had no mission except to sit at the airport, which is just like sitting in a bull's eye. And, they, uh... Theoretically, their presence was supposed to support the idea that- of disengagement and ultimate peace. And I said, "They're in a position of extraordinary danger. They have no mission. They have no capability of carrying out a mission, and they're terribly vulnerable." And it didn't take any gift of prophecy or anything to see how vulnerable they were. And, uh, when that horrible tragedy came, why, I was, as I say, I took it very personally and still feel responsible in not having been persuasive enough to overcome the arguments that "Marines don't cut and run," and "We can't leave because we're there," and all of that. I begged the President at least to pull them back and put them back on their transports as a more defensible position. That ultimately, of course, was done after the tragedy.
(Stephen Knott): Could you tell us anything about the impact that the tragedy had on President Reagan?
(Caspar Weinberger): Oh, yes. Well, it was very, very marked, there was no question about it. And it couldn't have come at a worse time, because we were planning that very weekend for the actions in Grenada to overcome the anarchy that was down there and the seizure, potential seizure of American students, and all the memories of the Iranian hostages and all the rest. Uh... And we had planned that for Monday morning, and this, this terrible event occurred on Saturday night. And it- Yes, it had a very deep effect him.