Responding to Violence in Lebanon: The Reagan Administration and the Role of Communication in Counterterrorism Strategy

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi’a political and military organization that formed largely in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Beginning in the 1980s, Hezbollah’s military factions targeted the citizens and peacekeeping operations of several Western countries, including the United States. Ronald Reagan assumed his role as president on the tail-end of the Iranian hostage crisis. While he vowed to avoid such an entanglement during his presidency, his administration was quickly swept up in contending with a new and ongoing hostage situation, multiple deadly suicide bombings, and several commercial airplane hijackings – all allegedly committed by Hezbollah. The violence against Americans and the subsequent media response made foreign policy and counterterrorism strategy a time-sensitive issue. External pressure, in conjunction with a lack of adequate intercultural communication, contributed to numerous errors being made by the Reagan administration in handling the crises. This historical analysis examines communications from President Reagan and his administration on an intercultural and intracultural level regarding attacks by Hezbollah on American citizens through an exploration of primary sources. On an intercultural basis, this research scrutinizes the tonal differences of communications between Reagan and the heads of state of Lebanon, Syria, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom. At the intracultural level, relevant speeches given by Reagan and official government documents are examined, which demonstrate the internal conflict within the administration and their dishonesty to the American public. This culminates in an analysis of the role of communication during a time of ongoing crisis and highlights the need for widespread improvement within the West of understanding non-Western cultures and contexts to inform foreign policy and counterterrorism strategy.