As briefly alluded to in post #43 in this thread, a large US airstrike was cancelled at the last minute in early November of 1983, i.e. about one month before the
sabotaged airstrike of 4 December 1983 (see posts #31 and #32 in this thread).
Below are some details on this cancelled airstrike given by Chuck Pfarrer in his
Warrior Soul : The Memoir of a Navy Seal
Quote:
Pages 254-255 : A week before we rotated onto Iwo, Frank's boat crews had mounted out to provide combat search and rescue for a large American air strike.
Launched from Dwight D. Eisenhower, the air raid was supposed to be a multisquadron attack package, Intruders, Corsairs, and Tomcats delivering a six-pack of whoop-a$$ called an alpha strike.
The entire complement of Eisenhower's combat aircraft had been loaded with ordnance, launched, and flown toward Lebanon, ready to pummel the Shouf and Bekaa valley.
But the air strike never happened. At the last minute, Washington pulled the plug. The planes did a U-turn, dropped their bombs into the sea, and returned to the carrier.
This aborted airstrike was the only retribution the Reagan administration was to attempt for the bombing of the marine barracks. The averted air strike was kept secret for years. Its effect on marine morale can probably be imagined.
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