Peacekeepers at War: A Marine's Account of the Beirut Catastrophe

Dust jacket notes: "Peacekeepers at War is a powerful and heartrending eyewitness account that reveals, as no official history of news story can, the frustration of members of a multinational force sent into a foreign country to 'keep the peace' during a civil war. Incredibly, despite their combined military might, the 'rules of engagement' make them powerless to defend themselves or to prevent the devastation caused by one fanatic. With great narrative power and humor, Petit portrays a group of Marines the reader will never forget, young men who joined the Corps to serve their country, to find adventure, and to see action. Instead, their patriotic fervor is undermined daily, at first by their numbing routine, and then, as their situation worsens, by their mounting fear of death. Based on his firsthand experience as a man on the line, Petit vividly recreates the day-to-day events leading up to the bombing and its aftermath, putting the attack into the context of the West's military presence in Lebanon. He examines the official record, the Marines' relationship with the press, and Congress' inquiry into what it called an 'incident' - what the author calls the most devastating moment in his life. Ultimately, having lost hundreds of comrades, many friends, Petit re-evaluates his own motivation for becoming a Marine. In recounting - and questioning - the political and military decision that sent young soldiers into the greatest military disaster since Vietnam, Peacekeepers at War raises issued of concern to all nations."