Beirut 1958: The Coup That Almost Was

In 1958, Lebanon teetered on the brink of civil war as President Camille Chamoun's bid for a second term ignited a simmering conflict between pro-Western Maronite elites and Arab nationalist factions backed by Gamal Abdel Nasser's United Arab Republic. This episode tells the story of the 1958 crisis through the lens of the short-lived rebel 'Government of the Republic of All Lebanon' based in Tripoli, the role of Rashid Karami and the Sunni establishment, and the dramatic U.S. Marine landing on Beirut's beaches—the first application of the Eisenhower Doctrine. We explore how the crisis reshaped Lebanon's fragile confessional pact, why Chamoun ultimately stepped down, and how the events set the stage for the country's descent into full-scale war seventeen years later. Drawing on declassified CIA cables, memoirs of key players like Charles Malik and Kamal Jumblatt, and the forgotten story of the 'People's Resistance' militias in the Chouf, this episode uncovers a pivotal moment when Lebanon's survival was anything but certain.

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