Events Leading To The Weinberger Doctrine
Two unconnected events led to Weinberger's speech. One was his wanting to respond to the suicide bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut airport on October 23, 1983, in which 241 United States Marines, sailors, and soldiers died. U.S. forces were in Lebanon as part of an ill-fated U.S. peace enforcement mission undertaken despite the reportedly vigorous opposition of the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff who argued that its purpose was never clearly defined and that the chaotic, violent situation in Lebanon could not be brought under control by any outside force. They further argued that any U.S. military contingent entered into the Lebanon conflict would become a convenient and prominent target for the various factions in the civil war. The second event was the invasion of Grenada on October 25, 1983. U.S and allied forces invaded Grenada after a pro-Soviet military coup ousted the constitutional government.
An older event, but one which probably had a stronger influence on U.S. foreign policy, Presidential powers, and the commitment of U.S. military forces which may have precipitated articulation of the Weinberger Doctrine, was the legacy of the Vietnam War. From 1975 and the fall of South Vietnam to Communist forces, U.S. foreign policy had avoided the use of military force, without any officially stated policy for how to employ those powers.
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