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Obama Justice Department seeks to block enforcement of judgment against Iran for murder of 241 United States MarinesIn 1983, 241 United States Marines were murdered by a suicide bombing in which a Bush-era Federal court ruled that Iran was complicit. The court ordered Iran to pay the families of the murdered service members $2.65 billion. The Boston Globe reports that the Obama Justice Department has, in an effort to appease Iran, intervened to quash the judgment; in other words, Barack Obama has sided openly with terrorists who murder U.S. Marines.... the Obama State Department (Hillary Clinton) has cut off funding...

Mideast: Iran tests an advanced warhead design as it gets caught shipping weapons to Hezbollah. Syria is reported to give the group operational control over Scud missiles. It's five minutes to midnight. Tyranny abhors a vacuum. While the U.S. and the West dither in Hamlet-like fashion over whatever we shall do in places such as Afghanistan and Iran, the Axis of Evil is in full swing in its plans to destroy Israel and threaten Europe and America. Israel last week seized what it said was the largest arms cache ever intercepted in the region. Israeli navy commandos boarded the Francop,...

RAIN RAN in small rivers from the equipment and the faces of the men loading up to leave in the early hours of that morning. Although the day had barely gotten a running start, already Camp Lejeune Marines were packing their gear, tying it down, and prepping for deployment. On the faces of these men — young and shiny baby Marines, experienced men facing their first deployment, and experienced veterans who had already been there and done that — was a grim expectation of what they would face in a few hours when they reached their destination: Beirut, Lebanon. Their...

Some 26 years after a bombing in Beirut killed 241 American Marines, sailors and soldiers, one community here in the east is still picked up the pieces. Many of the men killed when a suicide bomber attacked the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines headquarters building in Lebanon on October 23, 1983, were stationed at Camp Lejeune and lived in Jacksonville. And as Philip Jones reports, the wound is still fresh there almost three decades later: Prayers of praise echoed through Jacksonville’s Beirut Memorial Friday morning before giving way to salutes to our country and the men who laid down their lives...

Twenty-six years after a bombing in Lebanon stunned Jacksonville, Camp Lejeune and surrounding communities, veterans and their families still remember with sadness but are forging healing bonds. On Friday morning, the city and Camp Lejeune marked the anniversary of the 1983 suicide bombing that took the lives of 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers, most of whom were from the First Battalion, Eighth Marines, based at Jacksonville’s Camp Geiger. The service at the Beirut Memorial drew hundreds to the granite wall carrying a simple, eloquent inscription: “They Came in Peace.” Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips recalled the grief stricken moments the community...

At 6:20 on the morning of Oct. 23, 1983, a massive truck bomb plowed through the gates of the barracks of a U.S. Marines Corps peacekeeping force stationed in Beirut, Lebanon. The detonation, the most powerful non-nuclear explosion on record, would kill 241 of the 271 servicemen inside — the largest single-day death toll for the Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. At the time, Mark Wolcott of Tioga County was a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, assigned as a repairman for amphibious troop carriers, or “Amtraks.” On the night of Oct. 22,...

The community remembers the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit of 1983 as brave troops who suffered great losses in Beirut in one of the most devastating non-nuclear bombings of all time. Retired Marine Col. Timothy Geraghty remembers them as “my men.” Geraghty will be in Jacksonville today to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed nearly 300 peacekeeping troops, 241 of whom were Marines and sailors under his command. Twenty-six years after the event, he has told the story of Beirut in his own words.

I have been a resident of the Hamra district for two years now, where there is anything but routine. As a Chicagoan as well, I compare Hamra to Wicker Park, Chicago. Concentrated with hipsters, artists, intellectuals, old money, and yuppies, it is a neighborhood consistently updating its face with new chains and cozy pubs and demolition of old relic buildings and businesses. It comprises one of the most mixed populations in Lebanon and caters to that with anything from a brothel to a Dunkin Donuts coffee. I entered Hamra as a stranger, meeting individuals at this party or that pub....

Renovation work is underway at the main synagogue in central Beirut, after approval from the Lebanese government, planning authorities and even Hezbollah. The work, which is being funded by private donors and a Lebanese construction firm, began two weeks ago, according to various media reports. Built in the 1920s, the synagogue is located in the neighborhood of Wadi Abu Jamil, close to Lebanese parliament and other government buildings in downtown Beirut.

He may yet turn out to be the avatar of Iranian democracy, but three decades ago Mir-Hossein Mousavi was waging a terrorist war on the United States that included bloody attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.

Biden will travel to Beirut... on Friday to reinforce... support for an independent and sovereign Lebanon....In addition, Biden will join Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Murr and announce the United States' military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

BEIRUT // Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, surprised Beirut yesterday with an unexpected three-hour visit that US diplomats billed as an effort to reassure the country of support despite the Obama administration’s recent overtures towards Syria and Iran. Many Lebanese have been concerned that US support for Lebanon could fade in favour of a broader Middle East peace deal. The United States has backed the current governing coalition, commonly known as “March 14”, against a Hizbollah-led opposition that is competing for control of the parliament in elections scheduled for early June. Mrs Clinton avoided direct endorsements of either...

BEIRUT (AFP) — As Beirut prepares to don the mantle of UNESCO "World Book Capital City 2009," Arabic novels are enjoying an unprecedented boom across the Middle East, breaking taboos on topics such as sex and religion. The Lebanese capital was chosen as the world's literary centre this year "in the light of its focus on cultural diversity, dialogue and tolerance," according to the UNESCO selection committee. There is no shortage of literary fodder as book readings and launches are scheduled across Beirut daily for the last week of April. Among books being showcased will be a wealth of latest...

Note: Photo included. Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Blog Details Beirut: Jamaat-e-Islami Leader Meets With Hamas Official Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, director of foreign affairs of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami, meets with Hamas’s Deputy President Musa Abu Marzuq in Beirut. Source: www.jasarat.com, Pakistan, accessed April 15, 2009 Posted at: 2009-04-15

Sometimes a story just doesn't seem to be "all there." Cinnamon Stillwell suspected as much in a NewsBusters item on January 10: Call me overly suspicious, but the story of 16-year-old Farris Hassan traveling to Iraq on a whim strikes me as unbelievable. Hassan's interview with Rita Cosby of MSNBC, a Florida newspaper columnist's skepticism, and a January 18 posting by the Northeast Intelligence Network (NIN), which describes itself as "a small contingent of experienced investigators ..... founded by veteran private investigator Douglas J. Hagmann," all appear to confirm Stillwell's suspicions. What is known of Farris Hassan's saga at this...

A new Palestinian militant group whose members have been trained to carry out rocket-launching and bombing operations was reportedly formed in the southern refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh to carry out among others an attack on the Egyptian embassy. Al-Balad daily reported on Sunday that a Palestinian named Jamal Hamad formed the organization, which he named "Jihad movement for the victory of Gaza" with the assistance of Ghandi Sahmarani, a Lebanese wanted from the authorities on several terrorist charges. The newspaper said several militants from Jund al-Sham and Osbat al-Ansar have joined the new group. The militants have received training...

ht Gateway PunditThe man’s not even President yet [/sarcasm off]reuters Outrageous protests against Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, held near the U.S. embassy in Lebanese capital Beirut, were dealt with tear gas and water cannons on Sunday. Lebanese security forces dispersed 200-strong demonstrators who tried to cut through the barbed wire near the Embassy. Reports said the demonstrators, carrying Lebanese and Palestinian flags, were fend off while trying to cross the barricade to the mission compound in Awkar, north of Beirut. They demanded that the U.S. ambassador be expelled from Lebanon. Injuries have been reported in the use of...

KristallnachtGoogle News Search - Results 1 - 50 of about 1,965 for kristallnacht. (0.57 seconds) Marine Corps Birthday Google News Search Results 1 - 50 of about 403 for marine corps birthday. (0.58 seconds) British soldiers give a hand in rescue operations at the site of the bomb-wrecked U.S. Marine command center in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983. AP File Submitted By Marine Viet Vet

During the summer of 1982, in the wake of a presidential directive, Marines went ashore at Beirut, Lebanon. Fifteen months later, on 23 October 1983, extremists struck the first major blow against American forces – starting this long war on terrorism. On that Sunday morning, a suicide bomber drove an explosive laden truck into the headquarters of Battalion Landing Team 1/8, destroying the building and killing 241 Marines and corpsmen. Extremists have attacked our Nation, at home and abroad, numerous times since that fateful day in Beirut. Their aim has always been the same – to kill as many innocent...

Sunday morning was like a holiday. It was the only day of the week when the Marines could sleep in, the only day they got hot food, remembers retired Master Gunnery Sgt. John Nash. "We really looked forward to that Sunday morning, and the terrorists knew that," Nash said. At 6:22 the morning of Oct. 23, 1983, Nash was lying in his cot, talking to a fellow corporal about whether they should go to the chow hall for breakfast. Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by a boom Nash called "totally indescribable." "It blew us all out of our racks," Nash...

FBI Warns of Potential Terror Attacks The FBI and Department of Homeland Security today issued an analytical "note" to U.S. law-enforcement officials cautioning that al-Qaida terrorists have in the past expressed interest in attacking public buildings using a dozen suicide bombers each carrying 20 kilograms of explosives. Authors with the U.S. Office of Intelligence and Analysis added that they have "no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States." The FBI and DHS analysts said they were releasing the note because "it is important for local authorities and building owners and...

dawn 25 years ago today, a lumbering, yellow Mercedes truck smashed into US Marine headquarters near Beirut airport, detonating a gargantuan bomb that killed 241 peace-keepers. It was the Marines' biggest single-battle death toll since Iwo Jima. A short while later, a car-bomb killed 74 French peace-keepers not far away. Imagine this anniversary being celebrated by Iran's Supreme "spiritual" leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, in the company of Revolutionary Guard commandant Mohammad Ali Jafari and intelligence chief Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ejei. Khameni might make a toast - non-alcoholic - to the memory of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini; Jafari might boast that their predecessors pulled...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2008 – Twenty-five years ago, Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Nashton lay broken, burned and blind in a military hospital bed in Germany, the victim of a brutal terrorist attack that nearly killed him. Former Marine Ken Curry, left, and Bill Short, a former sailor, fight back tears during the White House Commission on Remembrance’s 25th annual tribute Oct. 19, 2008, at Arlington National Cemetery to those killed in the Oct. 23, 1983, terrorist attacks on a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Defense Dept. photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

25 Years Later: We Came in Peace By Colonel Timothy J. Geraghty, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired) In a Proceedings exclusive, the commanding officer of the Marine unit devastated by the suicide bombing of its barracks in Beirut recounts the horror of that October day 25 years ago and calls it a seminal event in the war against Islamist extremists. On Sunday morning, 23 October 1983, I awoke as usual at dawn, dressed, and went below to the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit's Combat Operations Center to check the overnight communications traffic. I roamed outside my headquarters at Beirut International Airport to...

Beirut, July 2: At "Buns and Guns" you can order a "Kalashnikov" sandwich from a bullet-shaped menu, prepared by chefs in military fatigues with the roar of explosions as background music. This new fast food restaurant in Beirut's southern suburbs, where the Hezbollah movement holds sway, was the brainchild of co-owner Ali Hammoud. He said the war theme was a novel concept that had nothing to do with Lebanon's bloody recent history. "It's just an idea I had, nothing more, nothing less. I could have put toys in place of the sandbags and teddy bears instead of guns. But it...

Lebanon will not become the next Gaza. Commenters both inside and outside the country compared Hezbollah's invasion of West Beirut last week to the Hamas takeover of Gaza last year, which is perhaps understandable: that's what it looked like. If Lebanon's mainstream Sunni-dominated party--Saad Hariri's Future Movement--has a militia that is able and willing to fight, it didn't make much of an appearance. Hezbollah seized the western half of the city in a walk. Most journalists focused on this portion of the conflict because West Beirut is where almost every journalist in Lebanon lives and where almost every hotel for...

BEIRUT: Hezbollah on Saturday began withdrawing gunmen from Beirut and handed control of the streets to the Lebanese army, after days of gunbattles with supporters of the US-backed government. Hezbollah, a political group backed by Iran and Syria with a guerrilla army, said it was ending its armed presence in Beirut after the army overturned government measures against the group. Hezbollah seized control of much of the city on Friday after fighters loyal to the group routed gunmen loyal to the anti-Damascus governing coalition. The Hezbollah-led opposition said it would maintain a "civil disobedience" campaign until its demands were met,...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah TV says that Hezbollah-led opposition forces will withdraw all their gunmen from Beirut in compliance with an army request. An opposition statement says the move comes after the army called on gunmen to get off the street and reopen the roads. But the statement said that a "civil disobedience" campaign will continue until its demands are met. Hezbollah gunmen seized most of the capital's Muslim sector Friday in the worst sectarian strife since a 15-year civil war ended nearly two decades ago. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier...

<p>Starting late last night and continuing into the morning, Hezbollah and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) militiamen engaged in street clashes on the major roads of Hamra and Verdun, among other areas of broader Ras Beirut.</p> <p>"We have an SSNP flag right under us. I'm looking at their guys as we speak," noted Dana, a resident of Hamra. "The ones that I can see are holding their guns... they stop cars; like, every time a car passes by, they stop the car. If they like it, they'll let it go. If they don't, they'll make it turn around."</p>

Italy readying evacuation plan for Lebanon May 9, 2008 ROME (Reuters) - Italy's foreign ministry said on Friday it was preparing an evacuation plan for its nationals in the Lebanese capital Beirut, where Hezbollah fighters and pro-government gunmen have been battling for three days. A ministry spokesman said the plan was not operational yet and would be enforced only if necessary. He said Italians in certain parts of the city were being offered safe shelter if they wanted to leave their homes. "I wouldn't call it at this phase an evacuation. We are ready for that, we are preparing it...

Hizbollah swept through major areas of Beirut in an overnight push that resulted in the deaths of 11 and forced Lebanese MPs out of the capital The Shia group seized control of large areas of Beirut’s Sunni Muslim districts, which are loyal to the US-backed government on Friday. The pro-Western leadership was effectively besieged with top leaders Saad Hariri of the Sunnis and Walid Jumblatt of the Druse sect surrounded in their compounds in Muslim western Beirut. Many MPs were forced to convene an emergency outside the capital. The fighting left the country’s army on the brink of potentially decisive...

Excerpt - BEIRUT, May 9 (Reuters) - Hezbollah gunmen took control of large areas of Beirut on Friday in a third day of fighting between the pro-Iranian group and fighters loyal to the U.S.-backed governing coalition. Security sources said at least 10 people had been killed and 20 wounded. The thud of exploding grenades and crackle of automatic gunfire echoed overnight in the worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war. Gunmen loyal to Hezbollah forced the pro-government Future News television off the air on Friday, said a senior official at the Beirut station. Future News is owned by Saad...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Sectarian fighting spread through the streets of Beirut on Thursday as Shiite Hezbollah supporters and the Lebanese government's Sunni backers battled with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades shortly after Hezbollah's leader vowed to fight any attempt to disarm his men. The violence first erupted in Muslim West Beirut, where masked gunmen on street corners opened fire along Corniche Mazraa, a major thoroughfare that has become a demarcation line between the two sides. There was also fighting in the nearby Ras el-Nabeh area. There was no immediate word on casualties. The violence spread to Khandaq el-Ghamiq, a neighborhood...

BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt called over the weekend for a ban on flights from Iran to Beirut's airport, accusing Hizbullah of flying in arms from the Islamic Republic. At a news conference on Saturday, the outspoken MP also called for the expulsion of Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Shibani and the sacking of the head of security at the airport, General Ayman Shoucair, over his alleged links to Hizbullah During the press conference at his residence in Mukhtara, Jumblatt showed reporters what he said was an exchange of mail between Defense Minister Elias Murr and army intelligence...

U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." While the United States...

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2008 – Twenty-five years after terrorists detonated a massive car bomb, killing 52 people at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, President Bush urged unity in condemning terrorism he said continues to threaten the United States. President and Nancy Reagan file by the flag-draped caskets of victims of the April 18, 1983, bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon in an April 23, 1983 file photo. Photo courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Islamic Jihad Organization, today known as the terrorist group Hizballah, launched the April 18, 1983, attack...

Facts: Occurred at about 1300 (1:00 pm Lebanon Time) on April 18th, 1983 Carried out by a terrorist driving a van, reportedly stolen from the Embassy in June 1982. The van carried a 2,000-pound load of explosives, tearing through the front portion of the seven (7) story building. Most of the victims were at lunch and were killed by the collapsing building. Killed 63 occupants of the building, 17 of whom were Americans. One Marine was killed - Corporal Robert V. McMaugh, an embassy guard.

(KUNA) -- Ambassador Robert Dillon, who served during the explosion of the US embassy in Beirut in 1983, recalled on Friday how this incident shaped US foreign policy in this embattled country 25 years ago, and indicated that Washington possessed information about the culprits. In an interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Dillon said the misinterpretation of US foreign policy towards the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982 and the "Iranian grievances" against the United States are the two main motivations behind this attack. [SNIP] He said that investigations revealed that a Shiite family and an emerging radical group from...

ChesapeakeBarbara Rockwell has a soft way about her. Light brown hair swirls around her face, adorned by oval-framed glasses and gold elephant earrings.Her voice is comforting and doesn't become loud or sound angry when she takes delight in a certain man's death."The fact that he got blown up in a car," Rockwell said, pausing, "I don't know who did it, but I'd like to thank him."The man against whom she has held this grudge for more than 24 years was a Hezbollah commander named Imad Mughniyeh. The reason she held it is that her son, Marine Cpl. Michael Caleb Sauls,...

Thousands of people from rival camps are taking part in key memorials amid heightened tension in Beirut. Anti-Syrian groups have been marking three years since the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. Meanwhile supporters of Hezbollah are attending the funeral of a leader of the militant group, Imad Mughniyeh, just a few miles away. A huge security operation is under way in the city amid fears of clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions. Correspondents say the events come at a potentially explosive time, with no president and no working parliament. About 8,000 army and internal security force troops have been...

—April 1983: suicide bomber rams van packed with explosives into the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people, including 17 Americans.AVENGED!! —October 1983: suicide attackers carry out near simultaneous truck bombings against barracks of French and U.S. peacekeeping forces in Beirut, killing 241 American Marines and 58 French paratroopers.AVENGED! —March 1984: Lt. Col. William F. Buckley, CIA station chief in Beirut, kidnapped and eventually killed in the beginning of a spate of kidnappings linked to Hezbollah.AVENGED! —March 1985: Associated Press chief Mideast correspondent Terry Anderson kidnapped and then held for more than six years.AVENGED! —June 1985: Lebanese Shiite militants hijack...

Scratch one terrorist from the FBI's Most Wanted list. An explosion killed Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh, one of the planners of the 1983 bombings in Beirut that killed 241 Marines and another 63 people at our embassy in Lebanon. He also took part in the 1985 TWA hijacking that resulted in the beating death of Navy diver Robert Stethem: A senior Hezbollah commander implicated in some of the most high-profile international terrorist attacks of the last 25 years has died in an explosion in Syria, Hezbollah TV said Wednesday. Imad Mughniyeh was suspected by Western intelligence agencies in the 1983...

A car bomb ripped through one of Beirut's Christian neighborhoods Friday, killing at least five people including a top police official who had been investigating terrorist bombings, officials said. The force of the blast, which struck midmorning in Hazmieh on the Lebanese capital's eastern edge, set a dozen vehicles ablaze and ripped a crater in the asphalt two meters (six feet) wide and a meter (3 feet) deep. Another dozen vehicles were wrecked in a nearby lot. The country's national police chief, Brig. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, confirmed that the blast was a car bomb that killed Capt. Wissam Eid, a...

25 Jan 2008 08:36:46 GMT Source: Reuters BEIRUT BOMB TARGETS SECURITY OFFICIAL - LOCAL TVS ... 25 Jan 2008 08:33:24 GMT Source: Reuters DEATH TOLL IN BEIRUT BOMBING RISES TO THREE - SECURITY SOURCES

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A blast rang out across Beirut on Tuesday, and a senior Lebanese security official said the explosion occurred just north of the city. Gray smoke could be seen billowing near the Mediterranean coast, but the source of the explosion was not immediately known. The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, told The Associated Press there was an explosion

Beirut cashes in on wealth of archaeological sitesAs New construction unearths ancient treasures, the law says excavations must precede buildings By Hassan Abdo Special to The Daily Star Wednesday, December 19, 2007 BEIRUT: Passing through the many narrow avenues that make up Achrafieh, few would realize that major archeological excavations are under way all around them. The Beirut neighborhood has been experiencing a development boom in the past few years, and construction projects are ongoing, yet in the midst of all this local archaeologists have been experiencing a boom of their own. Construction companies clearing away old buildings to make...

18 minutes ago BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanese security officials and TV stations report explosion in suburb of Beirut. just in, broadcast on KGO

Although the White House is poised to back away from misguided attempts to "engage" the Iranian mullahs, don't expect the State Department to play along. Just as State has undermined the president multiple times already on matters relating to every spoke of the "axis of evil," State most likely will continue talking to the mullahs. A recent Washington Post article gave an indication that Foggy Bottom officials may grudgingly embrace a new tough-on-Iran policy—if officially handed down by the White House—noting that State "appears inclined to accept such a policy." But history suggests otherwise. The State Department's top policy official,...

Lebanon's Parliamentary Bloc announced Wednesday that it accepts a constitutional amendment allowing the election of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman president. The announcement was made by al-Moustaqbal MP Ammar Houri. It coincided with a statement issued by MP Elias Atallah, a prominent member of the March 14 alliance saying efforts are underway to amend the constitution to allow the election of Gen. Suleiman for the nation's top post. Atallah said "The election could take place either Friday or in the following few days." "Serious efforts are underway to achieve consensus on Gen. Suleiman," Atallah told Agence France Presse. "If the...

"The suicide bomber detonated his explosives, which were equivalent to 12,000 pounds (about 5,400 kg) of TNT. The force of the explosion collapsed the four-story cinder-block building into rubble, crushing many inside. It is said by a U.S. federal district court judge to have been the largest non-nuclear blast ever (deliberately) detonated on the face of the Earth."