US Presidency
1983

As to that narrower question, what exactly is the operational mission of the marines, the answer is, to secure a piece of Beirut, to keep order in their sector, and to prevent the area from becoming a battlefield. Our marines are not just sitting in an airport. Part of their task is to guard that airport. Because of their presence, the airport has remained operational. In addition, they patrol the surrounding area. This is their part, a limited, but essential part, in the larger effort that I've described. If our marines must be there, I am asked, why can't we make them safer? Who committed this latest atrocity against them and why? Well, we'll do everything we can to ensure that our men are as safe as possible. We ordered the battleship New Jersey to join our naval forces offshore. Without even firing them, the threat of its 16-inch guns silenced those who once fired down on our marines from the hills, and they're a good part of the reason we suddenly had a ceasefire.