AJC Remembers Victims of 1983 Hezbollah Bombings in Beirut

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Jewish Committee
(AJC) recalls the tragic events of October 23, 1983, exactly twenty-five years
ago today.

It was the day 241 Americans were killed in a terrorist attack on the U.S.
Marine barracks in Lebanon.

The perpetrators? Hezbollah.

Their backers? Iran.

The goal? To drive the Americans, who were part of a multinational
peacekeeping force, out of Lebanon.

Tragically, they succeeded.

In what turned out to be a grievous strategic blunder, the United States
withdrew its forces from Lebanon. It sent a clear message to terrorists and
their supporters that terrorism worked, and it left the impression that the
United States did not have the determination to meet this emerging threat
head-on.

We at AJC honor the memory of the 241 servicemen who wore the uniform of the
United States with such pride and valor.

We also honor the memory of the 58 French soldiers who were murdered on that
same blood-soaked day in Beirut, in a separate truck-bombing by Iranian-backed
Hezbollah.

We remember that the mission of these troops was to help bring peace and
stability to a troubled land.

We think of the families and friends of those who lost their lives. The pain
they have endured has no statute of limitation.

We watch with profound concern as Hezbollah continues its terrorist activity,
with the steady support of Iran. Meanwhile, regrettably, the European Union to
this day has been unable to agree among its member countries on designating
Hezbollah as a terrorist group. The United States long ago put Hezbollah on
our country's terrorist list.

And we pray for the well-being of American servicemen and servicewomen in
harm's way today, as they face those who, like Hezbollah, wish to inflict
grievous harm, subvert freedom, and sap the will of those they confront.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Kenneth Bandler, Director of Public Relations and Communications of the
American Jewish Committee, +1-212-891-6771, bandlerk@ajc.org