Lebanese Consul in Detroit Called the Attack 'Heroic Resistance' – and Was Expelled from the US

The US State Department declared Lebanese Consul in Detroit, Ibrahim Sharara, persona non grata and expelled him from the US within 48 hours, following old posts in which the 1983 attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut was described as 'heroic resistance'.

The US State Department declared Ibrahim Sharara, the Consul General of Lebanon in Detroit, persona non grata and ordered him to leave the United States within 48 hours. The decision came after old social media posts attributed to the diplomat described the 1983 attack on the US Marine barracks in Beirut as 'heroic resistance'. The attack, which killed 241 American soldiers and one Lebanese civilian, occurred in October 1983. The investigation that revealed the statements was published by the Washington Free Beacon. However, a source close to Sharara claimed that the Twitter account from which the posts were published was hacked about seven years ago, and that Sharara was not responsible for the publications. At this stage, no public determination has been made regarding the identity of the person who published the posts.