Remember the last time the US Marines...

Editor's note: ...were sent to Lebanon? On October 23, 1983, a suicide bomber (patsy lunatic) drove a truck loaded with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon. The explosion killed 241 American service members (220 Marines, 18 Navy sailors, and 3 soldiers). A second truck bomb struck French peacekeepers nearby, killing 58 French soldiers. There is no such thing as "peace keeping." Sending US Marines on "peace keeping missions" is stupidity. After the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, critics argued the US Marine Corps "peacekeepers" had effectively been set up for disaster, stationed in an exposed building with minimal barriers, strict rules limiting their ability to defend themselves, and ignored intelligence warnings about a possible truck bomb attack.

________  

U.S. Is Sending Thousands Of Marines To Middle East And Their Target May Be Lebanon, Not Iran

March 13, 2026 | By South Front

The United States is deploying a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to the Middle East as the war with Iran heats up. Multiple recent reports indicate that the U.S. and Israel may be planning ground operations in Iran, possibly to seize enriched uranium, to capture a key island, or to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, it is more likely that the marine unit will end up landing in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as a part of a wider Israeli invasion.

Surprise Deployment

The deployment of the the 31st MEU — permanently based in Japan — to the Middle East on three navy ships, was reported by ABC News on March 13.

Officials from the administration of President Donald Trump had long ruled out the idea of sending ground troops to the region, but have largely avoided ruling out the possibility since the outbreak of the American-Israeli war on Iran last month.

The deployment of the marines doesn't necessarily mean that the troops will be deployed on the ground in the Islamic Republic, as they can also provide land, amphibious and aviation assets to military commanders in need, ABC News noted in its report.

The Wall Street Journal and Axios both confirmed the deployment, revealing that the USS Tripoli, an America-class amphibious assault ship, will be in the lead of the MEU.

The large ship can act as a carrier for several types of warplanes, including F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jets, AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, and MV-22B Osprey tilt rotor aircraft.

Threat to Iran

There have been some indications that the U.S. and Israel are at least preparing to conduct limited ground operations in Iran.

A report by Axios revealed that the two countries had discussed sending special forces into the Islamic Republic to secure its stockpile of highly enriched uranium at a later stage of the war.

However, Keith Kellogg, the U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine, said recently that the U.S. and Israel should seize a strategically important island in Iran that controls a majority of the country's oil exports. Kellogg explained during an interview on Fox News that if Kharg Island, located in the Northern Persian Gulf, is taken, "that's 89% of petroleum usage that the Iranians have."

Read more...

________

Related:

This is just the beginning.