From Beirut to Jerusalem:
Betty Crocker in Dante's Inferno
US Marines in Beirut 24 August 1982 – Marines
sent to Beirut to facilitate withdrawal of PLO
MNF leaves 10 Sept 14 Sept 1982 – President-
elect Bashir Gemayal assassinated.
16 Sept – Sabra & Shatila massacre
20 Sept – Marines sent back to Lebanon to “support Lebanese central authority” (191)
Why Betty Crocker? MNF has no understanding of
the history of Lebanon or of the conflicts
Marines arrive with “Rules of Engagement” and handbooks explaining the conflict
the “International Militia” sent with the pretext of
“helping the Lebanese central government rebuild its country”
President Amin Gemayal's used the American Marines as an extension of their own strength.
Alienates other political groups in Lebanon
the “International Militia”
18 Apr 1983 –American Embassy attacked by suicide bomber
23 Oct 1983—Marine headquarters attacked by suicide bomber
"I used to love visiting the Marine spokesmen just for the opportunity to munch on their baked goods, although...the practice always left me feeling strangely out of sync with the wider Beirut environment, as though I were nibbling Betty
Crocker brownies in Dante's Inferno."