Jesus, why? I don’t blame you, but why does Satan have the power to do this?
—CORPORAL BRAD ULICK, DIARY ENTRY
October 24, 1983
At 11:13 a.m. that Sunday in Washington, Larry Speakes approached the lectern for the second time to face reporters. The president had just concluded an hour-and-forty-minute meeting with his national security advisors to assess the tragedy in Beirut. Reagan had asked for additional information, Speakes noted, which he would receive when the group reconvened at 4 p.m. In addition, Weinberger had spoken by phone to his French counterpart, while State Department and White House officials briefed members of Congress starting at 5:20 a.m. “The assessment,” Speakes assured the press, “is that the mission of the United States and the multinational force has not changed. There is no change in our commitment, and we are exploring ways to reduce the vulnerability of our forces in Lebanon.”
“The Marines will stay in present numbers?” a reporter asked.
“There’s no change in our commitment,” the press secretary repeated. “There’s no change in our mission.”
“Do you have any new casualty figures?”
The Pentagon, Speakes said, would soon announce those numbers.
Has the president ordered any retaliation?
“Not at the moment,” he added.
“What’s the circumstantial evidence that’s pointing to Iran?” another asked.
Evidence gathered since the embassy attack in April, Speakes said, coupled with more recent intelligence involving the sniper attacks against the Marines.
“Secretary Weinberger did not rule out an act of reprisal,” a reporter observed, circling back to the question of American retaliation. “What do you say about this?”
There have been no decisions yet, he said, or even recommendations.
“What is the circumstantial evidence that the Iranians are involved?” another asked again.
“Intelligence,” Speakes said.
“Was there any surprise and has there been any study of how a truck could crash through a gate and get all the way into the headquarters without being stopped?”
“That’s exactly what they’re looking at on the ground,” the press secretary replied. “That’s what we would like answers to, also.”
Did the president plan to visit the wounded? Would the Marines be repositioned? Had the administration reached out to Iran? The transcript shows that Speakes had few answers during the nineteen-minute briefing, given that the attack had occurred less than twelve hours earlier and half a world away, where the focus remained on rescue operations.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” he confessed at one point.
“I honestly do not know,” he responded another time.
“I do not know specifically.”
That did not stop reporters, who continued to holler questions. “Can you tell us what information the president is looking for?” a reporter asked.
“Any and all,” Speakes concluded. “We’d like to find out who did this.”