July 15, 1958. Beirut, Lebanon.
A somewhat peaceful day in Beirut, Lebanon. Women sporting the newest fashion, the bikini, are sunbathing and strolling the beach bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Children are playing in the sand. Teenagers are bumming cigarettes from each other. Suddenly, landing craft appear as if on D-Day. One thousand seven hundred United States Marines with equipment in tow emerge from the horizon and storm the beach. Vendors from around Beirut flock to hock their goods to the newly arrived visitors while awe-struck teenagers offer to help setup any equipment. Seventy United States Navy vessels were at sea ready to provide any firepower or backup needed. The ‘All American’ 82nd Airborne was on standby back in the States and in Germany, ready to send their full force to this tiny country. In DC, Washington was standing by, ready to deploy nuclear weapons if the fight called for because the USSR entered the fray.
The United States military had entered the Middle East for the first time.
July 14, 1958. Baghdad, Iraq.
A group called the Free Officers, inspired by the Nasser-led Egyptian Free Officers that overthrew King Farouk in 1952, overthrew the monarchy of King Faisal II. Unlike the Egyptians, however, who allowed King Farouk to leave in exile, King Faisal; his son, Prince Abd Al-llah; and Nuri al-Said, then Prime Minister of Iraq, were all killed during the Coup.
Following the 1952 Coup in Egypt, Nasser had been the main voice and proponent of Arab Pan-Nationalism & anti-imperialism in the Middle East. In response to this growing revolutionary spirit in the Middle East, Eisenhower, in 1957, pledged to support both militarily and economically support the fight against Soviet communisms spread into the Middle East. This pledge became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.
However, the Iraqi coup came as a complete surprise to the Americans. Allen Dulles, then CIA Director, informed President Eisenhower that the CIA believed that Nasser was behind the coup and that this was Soviet effort to gain a foothold in the Middle East. They feared it would spread to other reliable allies like Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.
Which brings us back to the day after - Operation Blue Bat.
After meeting with John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, and Allen Dulles, CIA director, President Eisenhower said it was clear in his mind “that we must act or get out of the Middle East entirely.” What was also echoing in their minds was the loss of influence in Indochina with the fall of the Republic of China and the seeming stalemate forming in Korea. Eisenhower and the brothers Dulles felt that the only way to stabilize any influence was to help President Chamoun, a Maronite Christian, continue in power. He had in fact invited Eisenhower to move the troops in to prevent the country from falling. Eisenhower chose to address the nation, and in doing so, framed this a Cold War battlefront instead of the uprising stemming from Chamoun illegally seeking a second term as President.
So 1,700 Marines landed on the shores of Beirut, and took up defensive positions throughout Beirut and the airport. At the same time, British Commandos landed in Jordan to prop up the Hashemite monarchy. Forces in Europe began preparing to enter a larger fight. Tactical nuclear weapons were in the process of being loaded to fly to Lebanon to be used a deterrent to Soviet intervention. Thankfully, none of that was needed. Fighting was limited to mostly small skirmishes. In fact, due to partnering with the Lebanese military & staying out of rebel held strongholds, only one American died in combat in the operation.
The United States began looking for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Working with both the Maronite and Muslim populations, the United States sent diplomat Robert Murphy as Eisenhower’s personal representative. He worked a compromise solution that elected Maronite Christian General Fouad Chehab, who was favored by the rebels, and allowed Chamoun to step down at the end of his term. This solution, along with the establishment of a reconciliation government, allowed the US to dwindle it’s presence. Three months after landing on a crowded beach of sunbathers and swimmers, the United States Marines left Beirut.
Seen as a major point in the Arab Civil War, the Lebanese Revolution of 1958 prevented a complete overturning of the society, but left many remnants of dissatisfaction throughout the country. This dissatisfaction grew, along with the influence of the Palestinan Liberation Organization (PLO) under Yasser Arafat, which resulted in the start of the 2nd Lebanese Civil in 1975. This Civil War lasted 15 years, involved Syrian and Israeli occupations, and led to the death of around 120,000 people and the complete destruction of the economy which lasts to today.