Grenada Invasion of October 1983 under Ronald Reagan
On the morning of Wednesday, October 26, 1983, Americans woke up to the breaking news that U.S. military forces had invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada. President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on October 27, 1983, justifying the action. Many Americans approved, including Congressional Republicans and Democrats despite not having been consulted. There were, however, critics that labeled Reagan’s action as unilaterism with the purpose of establishing a “quasi-colony.”
Grenada Invasion Linked to Communist Goals
Grenada, once a British colonial possession, had gained independence. In 1979, however, a coup led by Maurice Bishop replaced the legitimately elected government. Although Bishop received support from Cuba and the Soviet Union, his agenda was not perceived as stringent enough. Bishop even traveled to Washington, D.C., encouraging hope in the Reagan administration for warmer relations.
Bishop was arrested and executed in October 1983 and replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard. The real power, however, was with General Hudson Austin. Six to eight hundred Cubans were in Grenada when Austin gained power as head of state. Over six hundred Americans were also on the island, many of them students at St. George’s University.
Another concern involved the Salines Airport which had a 10,000 foot runway. The international airport was built to spur tourism, according to Grenada government officials, but the Reagan administration feared that it could be used to launch Soviet military aircraft. This was the same fear Reagan expressed over a similar runway built by the Sandinistas in Nicaragua who were also supported by the Soviet Union.
Operation Urgent Fury
The military invasion of Grenada was planned quickly and without advising either the media or Congress. Although the War Powers Act, passed by Congress in 1973, required presidents to notify Congress of American troop deployments, Reagan ignored the proscription. Naval ships carrying marines to the Middle East were diverted to Grenada. The operation ended swiftly, leaving in place a new government led by Governor General Sir Paul Scoon until new elections could be held.
Criticism of Reagan’s Unilateralism in Grenada
The United Nations, Great Britain, and Canada condemned U.S. action in Grenada. Grenada was part of the British Commonwealth; British leaders believed they should have been consulted. The American media was also critical, primarily because no news agency had been briefed until after the events. Some observers suggested that this was a White House lesson taken from Vietnam where reporters had routinely filed stories highly critical of White House military policies and strategies.
Academics and the intelligentsia also faulted the Reagan administration. The American Journal of International Law in January 1984 commented that, “The Reagan administration has not established by means of clear and convincing evidence that there did in fact exist an immediate threat to the safety of U.S. citizens in Grenada.” Speaking on October 27, 1983, President Reagan told Americans that there was a fear those citizens could be used as hostages, and referred to the Iranian hostage crisis that plagued the Carter administration.
The Grenada Invasion Part of a Series of Foreign Adventures
Days before the Grenada crisis, over 200 U.S. marines were killed in Beirut, Lebanon when a suicide truck bomber destroyed a four-story building in which soldiers were sleeping. U.S. troops in Lebanon – numbering 1,600, were part of a multi-national force tasked with ending violence in that nation and stabilizing the region.
On September 1, 1983, Soviet military aircraft shot down the passenger liner Korean Air flight 007, killing 269 people including conservative Georgia Congressman Larry McDonald. The Reagan administration was forced to respond to a number of incidents that had links to the Soviet Union.
In Beirut, unrest was traced to both the Palestinians and to Syria, which was receiving substantial assistance from the Soviet Union. Thus, Reagan, in his October 27 address, concluded that, “The events in Lebanon and Grenada…are closely related.”
Impact of the Grenada Invasion
President Reagan demonstrated that the U.S. was willing to respond to any threats that might imperil American global interests. Grenada was also a message to the Soviet Union and to Cuba. American citizens were delighted that they had a Teddy Roosevelt-type of president, a decisive leader who would send the marines to protect American lives and property. Finally, Operation Urgent Fury enhanced U.S. prestige in the Caribbean, especial with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.
Sources:
- Stephen E. Ambrose and Douglas G. Brinkley, Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938 (NY: Penguin Books, 1997)
- Francis A. Boyle and others, “International Lawlessness in Grenada,” The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 78, No. 1, January 1984
- Steven J. Ramold, “The Grenada Invasion,” The Eighties in America, Milton Berman, editor (Salem Press, 2008)
- Ronald Reagan, “Address to the Nation on Events in Lebanon and Grenada,” October 27, 1983
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