U.S. Prepares Huge Lebanon Evacuation

Daniel Pierret, 6, hugs grandfather Mohammed Soubra as mother Sawsan cries before she and her son were evacuated from Beirut with hundreds of other French citizens. (By Kevork Djansezian -- Associated Press)

Americans were told to prepare travel documents and to pack only one suitcase should they decide to leave.

The State Department chose to prepare a large-scale evacuation rather than allowing evacuees to filter out in small numbers. Officials have been coordinating their efforts with Lebanese and Israeli authorities to try to ensure a safe exodus.

"We're building up the assets in the region so that we can operate on a scale of moving thousands of people," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday. He said smaller-scale operations were not feasible.

Maj. Matt McLaughlin, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said that an assessment team moved into Lebanon on Sunday to help the embassy plan for evacuations and that the command is awaiting the go-ahead from the U.S. ambassador for a wider effort. McLaughlin said that there would be "a gradual ramp-up in numbers that are coming out" and that the military is looking at all means of evacuation.

Military officials said yesterday that Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Carl Jensen, commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was in Cyprus leading coordination efforts. Helicopters from his unit were flying into Lebanon for early evacuations, and three other helicopters were standing by at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, a Pentagon spokesman said.

The 24th MEU has been stationed in Jordan, conducting training exercises that recently ended. A naval destroyer from the unit's expeditionary strike group, the USS Gonzalez, was prepared to escort the civilian cruise ship Orient Queen to take roughly 750 people at a time from Beirut to Cyprus.

Military commanders also were discussing the move of the full strike group into the Mediterranean in preparation for a major evacuation. The 2,200 Marines in the 24th MEU would assist in getting people out of Lebanon but would not be involved in the conflict, military officials said.

Although the unit has not yet received orders to move, the Marines were loading ships in Jordan to head out to sea. Such a movement would require the battle group to sail through the Suez Canal and then north into the Mediterranean, which could take several days.

As part of their regular training, such Marine units practice civilian evacuations. "This is their bread and butter," McLaughlin said.

Staff writer Robin Wright contributed to this report.