Visibility vs. Vulnerability

The Marines beef up security, but agonizing questions remain

Even as General Paul Kelley, the Marine Commandant, was insisting in Beirut last week that security for his troops had been adequate, Marines were hard at work bolstering the compound's defenses. At the main checkpoint, bright yellow Lebanese buses were being positioned to block the only access road. In front of the compound entrance, crews were swinging rows of sandbags into place, while along the main highway, fresh coils of barbed wire were tied to metal stakes. The number of sentries at nighttime guard posts was heavily increased.

These hastily implemented changes raised an...

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