US Ambassador to Beirut Dorothy Shea announced that Washington and the Lebanese people reject “the threats of some to drag Lebanon into a new war.” On Monday, the US Embassy in Beirut commemorated the 40th anniversary of the bombing of US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, when a suicide bomber blew up the headquarters, killing 241 American soldiers. Moments later, another explosion occurred at the French paratroopers headquarters, which killed 58 French paratroopers.