Review: International Organizations: The Multinational Force in Beirut 1982–1984
| Author | Alan James |
| Published date | 01 June 1992 |
| Date | 01 June 1992 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070209204700213 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS/INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS
449
THE
MULTINATIONAL
FORCE
IN
BEIRUT
1982-1984
Edited
by
Anthony
McDermott
and
Kjell
Skjelsbaek
Miami:
Florida
International
Press,
1991,
xii,
293pp,
£23.o6
This
book
is
the
product
of
a
workshop
held
in
1985
by
the
Norwegian
Institute
of
International
Affairs, almost
all
of
its
participants
having
been directly
involved in
Lebanon's
affairs
during
the period
of
the
Multinational
Force
(MNF).
Their
contributions
differed
appreciably
both
in
approach and
length,
making
the book
something
of
a
mixed
bag.
But
it
contains
much
that
is
valuable
and
is
especially
welcome
because
of
the paucity
of
material
on
this
important
episode.
Unsur-
prisingly,
the
soldiers
and
officials,
while
often
imparting
useful
infor-
mation,
rarely
venture
into
analysis.
One or
two
of
the
academics.
become
rather
prolix
or
unhelpfully
theoretical.
Augustus
Richard
Norton
of
West
Point
is
always
interesting
or
challenging,
as
is
a
Tel
Aviv
journalist,
Ze'ev
Schiff.
But
the
outstanding
chapter
is
that
by
a
British
journalist,
Robert
Fisk.
There
were
two
MNFS,
both
established
with
peacekeeping
intent.
The
first,
which
was
present
for
only
a
few
weeks,
supervised
the
with-
drawal of
the
Palestinian
forces
from Beirut,
where
they
had
been
under
fierce
seige
by
the
invading
Israelis.
None of
this book's
contrib-
utors
dissents
from
the
view
that
this
operation
was
a
notable
success.
However,
no
sooner
had
the
force
gone
than
Christian
militia
gunmen,
under
Israeli
cover,
entered
two
Palestinian refugee camps
and
embarked
on
a
systematic
massacre.
In
response to
the
world's
horror,
the
United
States,
France,
and
Italy
quickly
resurrected their
MNF
(a
small
British
contingent joined later),
sending
it
back
to
Beirut
with
the
vague
injunction
to
help
the
Lebanese
government
assert
its
authority.
For
a
while
things
seemed
to
go
well.
But
within
a
year
the
force
was
coming
under
fire
from
Muslim
opponents
of
the Christian-
led
government.
The
American
contingent
engaged
in
substantial
retaliation,
and
the
French
joined
in.
A
month later,
in
October
1983,
there
were
'truck
bombings'
on
the
American
and
French
bases,
caus-
ing
numerous
fatalities.
Early in
1984
the
second
MNF
disintegrated.
Several
detailed,
and
competing,
reasons
for
its
failure
can
be
dis-
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