Middle East: The City That Will Not Die

As the last Western troops pull out, Beirut gasps and goes on

For the first time in nearly two years, the 1.5 million residents of Beirut were truly on their own again. As France's 1,250-man contingent of the Multi-National Force withdrew from the city last week, the Reagan Administration announced that the U.S. Sixth Fleet, including the battleship New Jersey, would leave the area altogether. With the Italians and British gone, and most remaining U.S. troops aboard the ships, it was the end of Western attempts to help resolve the fratricidal Lebanese...

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