(2025-0005-S) White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject Code CO095

This collection consists of material found in WHORM Subject File CO095. This is the code that the White House Office of Records Management assigned to documents relating to the Republic of Lebanon. The United States established consular relations with what would become modern Lebanon in 1833. The relationship between the two countries continued to improve throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries with the establishment of Lebanese American University in 1835, the American University of Beirut in 1866, and the opening of the official American Embassy in 1952. However, the eruption of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 and the assassination of American Ambassador Francis Meloy Jr.  in Beirut in 1976 led to a period of significant tension. During the war, which included opposing military interventions from Syria and Israel, repeated suicide bombings led to the relocation and then closure of the U.S. Embassy in 1984. The conflict continued until 1989, when the Taif Agreement put into place a constitutional reform package. The U.S. Embassy reopened in 1990. Throughout the 1990s, the Clinton Administration gradually re-established relations with Lebanon. The Secretary of State lifted the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Lebanon 1997. 

The records in this collection consist of correspondence from individual citizens, non-profit organizations, and members of Congress. These letters address ongoing matters concerning the U.S. relationship with Lebanon including the travel ban, aid, and foreign influence in Lebanon. On the latter point,  the correspondence primarily expresses concern over continued presence of foreign troops in Lebanon, particularly from Syria. Israel withdrew its troops in 2000. The Syrian military left Lebanon in 2005.