    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 17, 2008]
    [Pages 519-520]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the 25th Anniversary of the Terrorist Attack on the United
    States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon
    April 17, 2008

        On April 18, 1983, the Islamic Jihad organization, known today as
    the terrorist group Hizballah, detonated a massive car bomb at the
    American Embassy in Beirut killing 52 people: 17 Americans and 35
    Lebanese citizens. The Beirut Embassy bombing was at the time the most
    deadly terrorist attack against the United States in our history. On the
    25th anniversary of that bombing, we mourn for those who perished, and
    we honor the sacrifice of their family and friends and of the many who
    were wounded. This occasion is a timely

    [[Page 520]]

    reminder of the danger our diplomats, military personnel, and locally
    employed staff bear in their service to the United States.
        Since the Beirut attack, we and citizens of many countries have
    suffered more attacks at the hands of Hizballah and other terrorists
    backed by the regimes in Tehran and Damascus, which use terror and
    violence against innocent civilians. All nations should condemn such
    brutal attacks and recognize that the purposeful targeting of civilians
    is immoral and unjustifiable.
        The people of Lebanon have spent the better part of three decades
    living under the threat of violence, assassinations, and other forms of
    intimidation. Despite this, they and their leaders continue to work for
    a peaceful and democratic future, even as Syria, Iran, and their
    Lebanese proxies seek to undermine Lebanese democracy and institutions.
    The United States will continue to stand with the Lebanese Government
    and the Lebanese people as they struggle to preserve their hard-won
    sovereignty and independence, endeavor to provide justice for victims of
    terrorism and political violence, and continue to seek the election of a
    president committed to these principles.