press releases 2008
Remarks by C. David Welch Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs on the 25th Anniversary Commemoration U.S. Embassy Beirut
April 18, 2008
I am honored to be here with you today.
There have been too many attacks – both against U.S. missions around the world and against the Lebanese people. However, I have a very personal connection to the attack which struck this mission on April 18, 1983.
In 1983, after a year on the Syria desk at the State Department in Washington, I had recently been “promoted” to the Lebanon desk. I will never forget receiving the call to alert me of the attack. It was a little after six in the morning, and I was just getting up, when a colleague called to tell me the terrible news.
While I didn’t have the same personal relationship with each staff member of the Embassy that I am sure you have, I lost several friends. Phyliss Faraci and I had worked together in Islamabad, while I was on my first tour. Bob Ames was someone I spoke with regularly. It was quite a blow. At the time, it was the deadliest attack ever on a U.S. diplomatic mission.
That attack was followed by a lot of other heartbreak. There was the attack against the Marine Barracks later that year in October, quickly followed by the attack on our Embassy Annex in 1984. And the attacks continued. The list of names on the Embassy plaque of those who have given their lives is far too long.
Just three months ago, this mission was hit again. While we are sorry for those who died in January, we are so grateful that Mr. Bishara Bader and Mr. Danny Massoud survived their injuries and are with us today.
The Embassy sent me a picture of Mr. Bader and Mr. Massoud taken just after their vehicle was hit on January 15. Both were standing strong amidst a cloud of dust and rubble. Their courage was apparent.
It’s that resilience that is so striking about this mission. In the immediate aftermath of each bombing, heroes emerged from the rubble. Together, American and Lebanese staff members did the work that needed to be done. They pulled their colleagues from the destruction. They tended to the wounded. They identified the victims. They kept Washington informed of events on the ground, and they informed families of the tragedy.
As we remember the victims who perished that day, let us also remember the survivors, those who did the tasks that should never have to be done, and who did them without thought for their own safety and personal needs. I can’t help but be inspired by all of you who stuck with us following the attacks, and are still with us today. Thank you.
Of course the resilience of this Embassy is also a characteristic shared by the Lebanese people. Lebanon has seen too many wars, too many assassinations, and too many attacks of its own.
While it is easy to be frustrated by the ongoing political stalemate in Lebanon, we continue to work with the Lebanese to support our shared vision of a sovereign, secure, and economically prosperous state in which all confessions live and work in harmony.
Some may question our dedication, and assert that the United States “withdrew” after the attacks in 1983. I’ve been working on Lebanon since then, and I know better. We may have moved, but we didn’t leave.
Support for Lebanon within the U.S. government today is strong and bipartisan. It will not be deterred.
Today, Secretary Rice is also hosting a commemoration in Washington to remember this event. Your FSN colleague Marina Chamma is participating, to represent all of you. We have invited over 100 family members of the victims, as well as numerous Senators, Congressman, and other senior government officials. Ambassador Dillon is speaking and other previous Ambassadors and diplomats posted to Lebanon are attending. I asked to be allowed to miss it so that I could be with you today. I am honored to be here, and I thank you for your service.
