A Time of Terror

The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the ensuing 19-month presence of U.S. and West European peace-keeping forces touched off a wave of bombings, assassinations and other bloody gestures of protest against the foreign visitors. Among the entries in that chronology of terror:

April 18, 1983: The U.S. embassy in West Beirut is devastated by a car bomb; 63 people killed, including 17 Americans.

Oct. 23, 1983: U.S. Marine headquarters near Beirut International Airport and a French military barracks are attacked almost simultaneously by suicide truck bombers; 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French paratroopers killed.

Nov. 4, 1983: Israeli military headquarters in Tyre is destroyed by a car bomb; 29 Israelis and 32 Arab detainees killed.

Dec. 12, 1983: The U.S. and French embassies and four other facilities in Kuwait are bombed; six killed. Shi'ite terrorists possibly linked to those in Lebanon are blamed.

Jan. 1, 1984: The French Cultural Center in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli is destroyed by a bomb.

Jan. 18, 1984: The president of the American University of Beirut, Malcolm Kerr, 52, is assassinated outside his office.