Michael Sheridan Beirut 1983: the Origins of the Long War in the Middle East

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On 23 October 1983, a suicide bomber attacked the US Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 American servicemen in one of the deadliest attacks on US forces since the Second World War. Yet despite the scale of the atrocity, President Ronald Reagan stopped short of directly retaliating against those believed responsible. Why did the world's most powerful country hold back?In his new book, Beirut 1983: The Origins of the Long War in the Middle East, published just one day before his appearance at the Lewes Speakers Festival, veteran foreign correspondent Michael Sheridan tells the extraordinary story of why. Drawing on decades of reporting and fresh research, Sheridan explores the complex mixture of diplomacy, espionage, regional rivalry and Cold War calculation that lay behind Washington's response. With Syria backed by the Soviet Union, military retaliation risked drawing the United States into a far wider and potentially catastrophic conflict.He argues that the decisions made in Lebanon in 1983 helped shape the Middle East that followed: the rise of Iranian influence, the growth of militant movements, repeated Western interventions and a conflict whose consequences are still being felt today. What appeared at the time to be a single devastating terrorist attack became a pivotal moment in a much longer struggle for power and influence across the region.In this timely talk, Sheridan takes us back to the streets and corridors of power of 1980s Beirut, revealing the secret diplomacy, political calculations and personalities behind one of the most consequential decisions of the Reagan presidency. Could a different American response have changed the course of Middle Eastern history?Michael Sheridan is a journalist, author and former foreign correspondent with extensive experience reporting from Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He worked for Reuters, ITN and The Independent, with postings including Beirut, Jerusalem and Rome, and reported from Beirut, Damascus, Tehran and Jerusalem during the 1980s and 1990s.He later served for 20 years as Far East Correspondent of The Sunday Times, covering the rise of China, the 1997 handover of Hong Kong and the territory's struggle for democracy. His previous books include The Gate to China: A New History of the People's Republic and Hong Kong and The Red Emperor: Xi Jinping and His New China, which the Financial Times praised as an exceptionally vivid and compelling account of China's leader.Having reported from Beirut himself, Sheridan brings both the historian's perspective and the experience of a correspondent who witnessed the region at close quarters.A Q&A Session will follow.