Michel Datin (January – May 1983) 31st Brigade, B. Gen. Jean-Claude Coulon (May – September 1983) 11th Airborne Division, B. Gen. Francois Cann (September 1983 – January 1984) The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel[3] to end their involvement in the conflict between Lebanon's pro-government and pro-Syrian factions.

[6] The relatively benign environment at the beginning of the mission gave way to chaos as the civil war re-escalated following the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gemayel in September 1982.

In July, a bloody coup in Iraq overthrew the monarchy and established a military regime allied with Egypt and Syria,[13] fearing a similar takeover by leftists with ties to Egypt and Syria in his nation—where Muslim factions were opposed to the pro-Western government and demanding that Lebanon join the Nasser-led, Soviet-backed United Arab Republic, Chamoun sent an urgent appeal for help to the American Government.

[14] The United States subsequently entered Lebanon with the announced purpose of both protecting American nationals and preserving the integrity and independence of the country in the face of internal opposition and external threats.

In April 1975, an attempt on the life of Pierre Gemayel, a prominent Maronite figure, sparked clashes between Palestinian and Christian militias and was widely seen as having set off the Lebanese Civil War.

[15] Further instability ensued when Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982, the invasion targeted the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) bases in Beirut.

As the capital city Beirut was besieged by the Israelis, U.S. special envoy Philip Habib negotiated with the warring parties for an end to the fighting and for the creation of an international peacekeeping force to oversee their evacuation.

Consequently, the Multinational Force troop contingent reboarded to their respective ships in the Mediterranean Sea on September 9, after 15 days ashore in Beirut.

On August 19, 1982; the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment succeeded following a request from the Lebanese Government to allow the departure of the Palestinian contingent from Beirut.

The American request for UK military support posed a dilemma for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was wary of entanglement in the complex conflict in Lebanon.

[20] In the aftermath of President-elect Gemayel's assassination on September 14, the IDF entered West Beirut, citing a need to prevent civil disorder.

[3] While in Beirut Israeli troops allowed the Phalangist-affiliated Lebanese Forces (LF) to enter Sabra and Shatila to root out PLO cells believed located there, hundreds of Palestinian refugees were killed in the process.

Foot and vehicle patrols were conducted routinely throughout Beirut in an effort to gather information and provide a visible presence demonstrating multinational force commitment to the people of Lebanon.

Lt. Col. Don Anderson, the commander of Battalion Landing Team 2/6 led a column of nine thirty-ton amphibious tractors (AmTracs) and several wheeled vehicles across rugged mountain terrain, reaching Qatarba 16 hours after leaving the Beirut International Airport.

[21] The AmTracs created a landing zone by packing down deep snows so that additional food and heating fuel could be delivered to the village by helicopters.

A suicide terrorist driving a van packed with 2,000 pounds of highly explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) crashed into the embassy lobby detonating the payload.

On July 23, Walid Jamblatt, leader of the predominantly Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), announced the formation of a Syrian-backed "National Salvation Front" opposed to the May 17 Israel-Lebanon Agreement.

As the LAF moved slowly eastward into the foothills of the Shuf, accounts of massacres, conducted by Christians and Druze alike, began to be reported.

This defeat obliged the LAF to occupy Suq-Al-Gharb to avoid conceding all of the high ground overlooking Beirut International Airport to the Druze.

On October 1, 1983, Walid Jumblatt announced a separate governmental administration for the Shuf and called for the mass defection of all Druze elements from the LAF.

After the USMNF engaged in direct fire support of the LAF at Suq-Al-Gharb, a significant portion of the Lebanese populace no longer considered the MNF a neutral force.

Among these was a requirement to reduce the size of the BLT and MAU headquarters ashore to an essential few, with the "non-essential" Marines relocated on board Phibron shipping.

Elements of BLT 2/8, fresh and eager after a successful operation in Grenada, began landing at Beirut International Airport on November 17.

A Seabee site survey team had been at the airport for two days, November 17–19, to review the Marine positions and determine how they could be improved and made safer.

Two rifle companies (F and G) were dispersed on the eastern side of the northeast–southwest runway within several hundred yards of LAF and Shia positions near Khaldeh, were the Marines were still subject to frequent sniper fire.

Less than a week after November 23, General Joy again reported that he, his staff, and his commanders had dedicated their efforts to continuing the "presence" mission while doing their utmost to prevent a recurrence of the bombing and other terrorist actions.

[27] French Navy warplanes retaliated in November to the bombings by striking Iranian Revolutionary Guard's barracks in Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, though it did minor damage.

[28] At this time, tensions rose between Syria and the United States as Syrian anti-aircraft batteries fired on U.S. aircraft as they patrolled Lebanese airspace.

The following day, February 8, the USS New Jersey was again called upon to fire its main battery, this time against Syrian and Druze positions in the Bekaa Valley.

The British were the first to withdraw, evacuating their forces by air with American assistance on January 2 after having a parade at their compound headquarters during which the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was removed.