ABSTRACT
In the 1980s as in the 1970s Lebanon was no novelty really, except that the Americans returned pursuing decency and advantage. Lebanon had for years been wracked by civil war, foreign invasion and intervention, and seemingly mindless violence that ruined each new hope for a solution. In 1982 the Israelis had brought a real professional touch to the destruction, pounding down much of what had managed to remain standing. The Israeli army had used the building, and for most Americans the Israelis had a handle on Lebanon. In Lebanon illusion had been everything, a country run with mirrors and wires that by ruse presented a nation where none existed, by agreement gave each political faction something if not enough, by habit allowed business as usual. For a generation Lebanon had been ruled by disguised barons and warlords, chieftains possessed of private armies and special accounts.
