1985 Beirut Car Bombing
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On 8 March 1985, a car bomb exploded 9-45 metres [1] [2] from the house of Hezbollah cleric Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in a failed assassination attempt.
The bombing, later discovered to be the work of CIA-trained Lebanese mercenaries, killed more than 80 [3] people and injured 200.
The bomb explosion, equivalent to 440lbs of dynamite[4], occurred in the western Beirut suburb of Bir al-Abed, outside an apartment building. It killed worshippers leaving Sabbath services at an adjacent mosque, and destroyed two 7-storey apartment buildings and a cinema. [5]
While several of Fadlallah's bodyguards were killed in the attack, the cleric escaped injury as he was attending Sabbath prayers at a nearby mosque. [6] The other notable death was Fuad Mugniyah, the brother of Imad Mugniyah.[7]
Locals fired guns in the air, following the blast, trying to clear the roads to allow ambulances to pass. [8] A banner was strung across the blast site by locals, reading "MADE IN THE USA" [9].
Responsibility:
Initially, Fadlallah blamed Israel for the attack, but later accepted evidence [10] that revealed the American Central Intelligence Agency had sponsored the attack, as they had claimed Fadlallah had given support to the Beirut barracks bombing, in which hundreds of American and French soldiers were killed.
Reporter Bob Woodward charged that CIA director William Casey had been responsible, receiving funding from Saudi Arabia, for the attack. [11] Fadlallah would later suggest the amount $3,000,000 as the price that had been offered by the Saudis, for Casey to arrange the bombing. [12]
The U.S. National Security Advisor, Robert McFarlane admitted that those responsible for the bomb may have had American training, but that they were "rogue operative(s)" operating without CIA approval. [13]
Former Lebanese warlord and statesman Elie Hobeika was fingered as one of those likely responsible for the actual operation.[14]
Historical Relevancy:
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan had issued Executive Order 12333, in which it was ruled "No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.".
This order was rescinded by Reagan four months before the car bombing against Fadlallah, in a November 14, 1984 order
References:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,1432945,00.html
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HD18Aa01.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/cron.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,1432945,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957011-2,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957011-2,00.html
http://www.solport.com/roundtable/archives/000107.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/8/newsid_2516000/2516407.stm
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0406c.asp
http://english.bayynat.org.lb/Biography/index.htm
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,965712,00.html
http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/1891.cfm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/cron.html
http://www.meib.org/articles/0201_l1.htm
Smith, William E.. "Lebanon Blackmail in Beirut", Time, 1985-5-27.
See Also:
William J. Casey
William Francis Buckley
TWA Flight 847
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Beirut_car_bombing"
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