The United States had previously been involved in Lebanon during the 1958 crisis. In the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, Lebanese President Camille Chamoun faced an ordeal in 1956 when Muslim leaders demanded that he break relations with Britain and France, which had just attacked Egypt over rights to the Suez Canal. In May 1958 armed rebellion broke out in Beirut, supported mostly by Muslim elements. In July, a bloody coup in Iraq overthrew the monarchy and established a military regime allied with Egypt and Syria, fearing a similar takeover by leftists with ties to Egypt and Syria in his nation—where Muslim factions were opposed to the pro-Western government and demanding that Lebanon join the Nasser-led, Soviet-backed United Arab Republic, Chamoun sent an urgent appeal for help to the American Government. The United States subsequently entered Lebanon with the announced purpose of both protecting American nationals and preserving the integrity and independence of the country in the face of internal opposition and external threats. 14,000 U.S. Marines and paratroopers were sent to Lebanon by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to keep the country from falling to Communism. President Chamoun left office in September after having completed his term and a successor had peacefully been selected.