Oct. 23, 1983. A truck crashed into the lobby of a four-story United States Marines barracks at the Beirut Airport, which was surrounded by the city's Shiite Muslim slums. The driver set off the largest non-nuclear hostile explosion ever recorded by seismographs, killing 241 U.S. servicemen, including 220 Marines. At the same time, another suicide bomber killed 58 French peacekeepers. "We have vital interests in Lebanon," said Reagan the next day. "This vicious attack will not cause the United States to weaken in its resolve. We will not be intimidated."
Feb. 25, 1984. Larry Speakes, Reagan's press secretary issued a written statement from the president -- Reagan wanted no video of this one -- saying: "To take the initiative away from the terrorists ... I have asked Secretary of Defense Weinberger to present me with a plan for redeployment of the Marines from the Beirut Airport to their ships offshore." The statement ended: "America is back. Standing Tall."
March 30, 1984. The ships sailed away. George Will, the conservative columnist, called it, "Retreating Tall."