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The One Customer You Can Always Count On

By Joel Litman, chief investment officer, Altimetry

The ‘Good Spy’ arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut for yet another day of work…

At exactly 1:03 p.m., a truck loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives crashed through the embassy’s gates. The driver aimed straight for the building, plowing into the central lobby before detonating.

Sixty-three people were killed. Among them were 17 Americans, including eight CIA officers. And the Good Spy was one of them.

The spy’s real name was Robert Ames. Unlike other CIA officers, he wasn’t known for being loud or brash. He didn’t lead with intimidation.

Instead, he quietly forged relationships in the most volatile regions of the world…

Ames had spent years in the Middle East. He became an expert in the culture and established himself as a key figure in U.S. efforts to stabilize the region.

And as we’ll explain, the day Ames died was a turning point for U.S. overseas defense policy… and its impact is still playing out today.

Ames’ mission was diplomacy…

He brought together rival factions, gathered intelligence, and made inroads with Arab leaders.

Beirut was at the heart of his work. But Beirut was also a powder keg.

The city had once been called the “Paris of the Middle East.” But Lebanon had been consumed by civil war since 1975. Warlords and militias carved up the streets. Hezbollah, the shadowy militant group backed by Iran, was on the rise.

Ames was able to navigate the turmoil with aplomb. Often criticized by fellow CIA operatives for being too friendly with informants, he built a rapport with almost everyone he came across overseas.

His work was instrumental in putting together President Ronald Reagan’s 1982 Middle East peace plan and the Camp David Accords. And by 1983, he was a common figure in the Oval Office… offering his knowledge on how to build strong relationships in the region.

His diplomacy work brought him to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, when the explosion ripped through the building.

Rescue workers rushed to the scene, but the blast was catastrophic. The embassy was reduced to rubble. Many of those inside were trapped under tons of concrete.

Ames’ body was pulled from the debris hours later.

It was the deadliest day in CIA history. Hezbollah, still a relatively unknown group at the time, claimed responsibility. It marked the beginning of its campaign against U.S. interests in the region.

For Ames, a man who had dedicated his life to dialogue and diplomacy, the bombing was a tragic irony.

Ames took a unique approach toward peace in the Middle East that paid dividends while he was alive. Perhaps things would be different today if he could have continued his mission to build relationships in the most contentious places.

The embassy bombing wasn’t just a moment of loss…

It was a major shift… one that sent shockwaves through Washington.

And the U.S. responded with force.

The military ramped up both the number of troops and the number of distinct bases it operated around the Middle East. This wasn’t just about diplomacy anymore – it was about securing American interests.

It was also a moment to reckon with a new kind of warfare. The attack revealed vulnerabilities in our operations. And it set the stage for the U.S. to solidify its presence in the region… and fortify future embassies and military bases against growing instability.

More than 40 years later, the problems Ames sought to fix remain. The past few months – and especially the past few weeks – have shown that Lebanon (and the Middle East in general) is still an unstable powder keg.

The U.S. has an estimated 750 offshore military bases in roughly 80 countries…

To prevent more tragedies, these bases need to be well equipped and prepared to mobilize at a moment’s notice.

These are massive institutions. They’re not just plots of land from which the military can set up equipment and run operations. They’re small cities with complicated logistics… and a never-ending need for maintenance.

The largest bases in the U.S. can hold well over 100,000 people, while overseas bases house up to 40,000 individuals.

And that makes them multibillion-dollar investments for the U.S. government.

While war is never something to celebrate, there’s no denying that national defense is big business in the U.S. With no end in sight to global conflict, this steady industry will only become more important in the coming years.

If you’re in search of stable businesses with a reliable customer base… look no further than the defense contractors supplying Uncle Sam.

Regards,

Joel Litman
October 23, 2024