Aftermath of the 1983 Beirut Bombing

Hidden Fears, Helpful Memories: Aftermath of the 1983 Bombing of the United States Embassy in Beirut A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Anne Dammarell, B.A. School for Summer and Continuing Education Georgetown University Washington, D.C. November, 1994 © Copyright by Anne Dammarell 1994 All Rights Reserved - ii - ABSTRACT The first U.S. Embassy destroyed by political terrorists exploded in Beirut on April 18, 1983. Seventeen Americans died. Sixty-seven survived. Unfortunately, little has been written about that event. This paper discusses the type of preparation the Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) had for serving in a danger post and how they reacted to the bombing and processed the event. To collect this information a select number of FSOs were interviewed and sent an anonymous questionnaire. Department of State officials responsible for the educational and medical programs were also interviewed. The FSOs who were in Lebanon in 1983 unknowingly experienced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms similar to those faced by war veterans and victims of trauma. Although the Department of State attempted to address the needs of the survivors, it did not provide sufficient training and follow-up support to allow them to recognize, acknowledge, and fully process the trauma. Many FSOs had not been prepared for working in a war zone and, when caught up in the bombing, they continued work, "business as usual," without fully acknowledging the traumatic effect the bombing had on their lives. As a result, they may have delayed the process of healing the psychological wounds caused by the explosion. FSOs did not pressure the Department to provide additional psychological support because many either saw no need for it, or did not value the concept of psychiatry and/or the competency of some of the psychiatrists working within the Department. The vast majority of FSOs experienced—and some still do today—a series of post- - iii - - iv - traumatic stress reactions; however, only one FSO described symptoms which may indicate a full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder. The FSOs were not educated in the psychological ramifications of trauma. Although most FSOs instinctively worked through their emotional reactions by talking to colleagues and family, all may not have processed fully their reactions to the bombing. Some may not have acknowledged the need to recognize and process the trauma of the bombing. The Department of State does not officially acknowledge that violence has a long- term effect on those involved, even if only indirectly involved. The predominant Foreign Service culture has yet to rid itself of the outdated attitude that any attention to mental health betrays a weakness. The notion that using the services of educators and counselors as a form of preventive medicine and a way of educating oneself on normal human development has not caught hold. PREFACE Terrorism has become the preferred-perhaps only-way that the weak and impotent nations can conduct war against the powerful, the rulers of the world. In recent years, terrorists, with quick-strike flexibility and reliance upon theatrical symbolism, have zeroed in on the diplomatic community. For the United States, they have escalated their ante from targeting ambassadors, to the capturing of the an embassy full of ready-made hostages in Iran in 1979, and finally to the double bombing of our embassy in Lebanon in 1983 and 1984. Throughout this process a subtle yet deep structural transformation of how Foreign Service Officers operate has taken place. Since terrorists view diplomats as combat personnel, embassy security has increased and embassy staff find it increasingly difficult to be as open and as relational as previously. Embassy as fortress is no mere metaphor. In some countries, it is reality. Unlike members of the armed forces, however, Foreign Service Officers working inside the embassies receive little support or training to prepare them for battle and its aftermath. I was in the first bombing of our embassy in Beirut in the early afternoon of April 18, 1983 and one of only two survivors in the cafeteria. Although seriously wounded, years slipped by before I accepted the reality of my injuries, because I did not want to believe that my physical capacity had been limited and that my life had changed. Yet my life had changed profoundly: I had felt the pain and isolation of a near-death episode and had gained insight into the brevity and joy of life. At age forty-five, I had confronted my own - v - mortality. Ten years later, I am still plumbing the meaning of that experience. The bombing was dramatic and, perhaps, the most significant event of my life. Because I had been directly involved in this international act of terrorism, I decided to write about it for my master's thesis. When I started my preliminary literature research on the political ramifications of the bombing for my paper, I discovered that very little had been written on the bombing. Surprisingly, I found no books and only a few articles on an event that altered not only our foreign policy but also the way in which our embassies and staff are protected. Why was there so little data? I felt like someone had died but no one had bothered to put up a tombstone. While I was working in the Georgetown University library, the Marines were preparing for the tenth anniversary of the bombing of their seaside barracks in Beirut. The two hundred and forty-one men killed on October 23, 1983 would be honored at Arlington Cemetery and at Camp Lejeune. Book titles about this Marine tragedy kept popping up on the computer screen as I tried to track the Embassy explosion. I began thinking about my colleagues who had died. I also thought about my colleagues who had lived. What were their thoughts on the tenth anniversary of the bombing? How did the explosion affect their lives? How did they handle the injury and death that had surrounded them? Could their experience be of help to the men and women living in danger posts today? Al Alexander,1 on temporary duty assignment from the Department of Commerce, and Consular Officer Philo Dibble2 gave accounts of the day. Written shortly after the bombing, the articles give little insight into what people were thinking. The stories of the Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) in Lebanon have not yet been recorded. - vi - - vii - Stephen E. Auldridge, a Vietnam veteran and Foreign Service Officer writing about the Embassy bombing, said The paradox between Nam and Beirut is all there: an unseen enemy, whom we cannot conquer, a Stateside public which does not fully understand, and the seemingly [sic] thanklessness of it all for the price we pay serving overseas. I remember the feeling of losing "brothers" in Vietnam and crying a frustrated, angry cry. I remember going home and feeling frustrated and angry...It's been 10 years since I remember that cry for lost "brothers," but on April 19 it happened again. The same cry, the same frustration and anger...And now I must again feel that pain, sharing a grief with all other Foreign Service people over the loss of our own...I knew I wasn't grieving alone...3 I changed the focus of my thesis. I decided not to do a political analysis of the bombing, but would write on the reactions of FSOs who were the hidden victims of that ordeal. My personal experience of the bombing differed from those of whom I interviewed, in that my injuries required a series of operations and prolonged physical therapy. Although several colleagues had been hurt, none required hospitalization. Another difference was that I left the "group" four days after the bombing and did not have the post- bombing experience of being in Beirut with colleagues who shared a trauma. Chapter One describes the bombing and the political context within which the event took place. It also examines the thesis, research procedures and methodology used. Chapter Two is about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Chapter Three contains my personal experience of the bombing, which I wrote to help me (and the reader) understand my reactions to the event. Chapter Four gives the reactions of the FSOs to the bombing and how it affected their lives. (A more detailed account of each person is in the Appendix.) - viii - Chapter Five has the Department of State reactions and procedures to the bombing. Chapter Six has the conclusions and recommendations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The professors at Georgetown University, whether experts in the psychology of trauma or past teachers, were gracious and generous in discussing my thesis with me. None was more helpful and supportive than my mentor, John Ruedy, whose knowledge of and love for the Middle East has enriched the thinking of many Georgetown students. By interviewing the Foreign Service Officers who survived the Beirut bombing, I hope to acknowledge all Foreign Service Officers and especially the seventeen Americans killed in 1983: Robert C. Ames Thomas Blacka Phyliss N. Faraci Terry Gilden Kenneth E. Haas Deborah Hixon Frank J. Johnston James F. Lewis Monique Lewis Staff Sergeant Ben H. Maxwell William McIntyre Corporal Robert V. McMaugh Staff Sergeant Mark E. Salazar William Sheil Janet Lee Stevens, journalist - ix - - x - Sergeant First Class Richard Twine Albert N. Votaw DEDICATION To Leona Fisher, Ph.D, of Georgetown University, who encouraged her students in "Theory and Methods of Interdisciplinary Research" to pursue with passion their topics of research and to question why certain subjects and people are not recorded in the annals of history. - xi - TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ iii PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... ix DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................

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