Invasion of Grenada
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The Invasion of Grenada, known to U.S. forces as Operation Urgent Fury, was an invasion of the island nation of Grenada by the military forces of the United States and several Caribbean nations. On October 25, 1983, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was executed by Bernard Coard's communist sect, the United States armed forces landed troops on the beaches of Grenada.
Background
In 1979, a bloodless coup d'état, led by New Jewel Movement leader Maurice Bishop, toppled the government of Eric Gairy to establish a Marxist-Leninist government that quickly aligned itself with the Soviet Union and Cuba. Under Bishop, Grenada began constructing an international airport with the help of Cuba. U.S. President Ronald Reagan pointed to this airport and several other sites as evidence of the potential threat posed by Grenada towards the United States. Reagan accused Grenada of constructing facilities to aid a Soviet-Cuban military build-up in the Caribbean and of greatly militarizing a country that had previously maintained a relatively small army.On October 13, 1983, a faction led by the strongly pro-Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard seized power; Coard's forces subsequently executed Bishop in spite of mass protests in Bishop's favor. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) appealed to the United States, Barbados, and Jamaica to assist them, though according to the prime ministers of Barbados and Jamaica, this formal appeal was privately requested by the United States.
Cause of war
The combination of a bloody seizure of power by a hardline Marxist group within America's "backyard" prompted it to act militarily. The U.S. government described the invasion as a "noncombatant evacuation operation" for nearly a thousand American medical students on the island. It also claimed that the airstrip was built to accommodate Soviet and Cuban transport craft to carry arms to aid Central American insurgents—Bishop's government claimed that it was built to accommodate commercial aircraft carrying tourists.Mythu Sivapalan disputed one of the U.S. government's reasons in an article in the October 29 issue of the New York Times: "The wording of the formal request, however, was drafted in Washington and conveyed to the Caribbean leaders by special American emissaries. Both Cuba and Grenada, when they saw that American ships were heading for Grenada, sent urgent messages promising that American students were safe and urging that an invasion not occur. [...] There is no indication that the administration made a determined effort to evacuate the Americans peacefully. [...] Officials have acknowledged that there was no inclination to try to negotiate with the Grenadian authorities."
United Kingdom
The invasion was opposed by the British government, because Grenada was part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and Queen Elizabeth was head of state as Queen of Grenada. Grenada requested help from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was against any possible US invasion and her Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Howe, announced to the House of Commons on the day before the invasion that he had no knowledge of any possible US intervention. Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, assured her that an invasion was not contemplated. Reagan later said "She was very adamant and continued to insist that we cancel our landings on Grenada. I couldn't tell her that it had already begun". Reagan, Ronald (1990). An American Life page 454.After the invasion, Prime Minister Thatcher wrote to President Reagan:
- This action will be seen as intervention by a western country in the internal affairs of a small independent nation, however unattractive its regime. I ask you to consider this in the context of our wider East-West relations and of the fact that we will be having in the next few days to present to our Parliament and people the siting of Cruise missiles in this country...I cannot conceal that I am deeply disturbed by your latest communication.Thatcher, Margaret (1993) The Downing Street Years page 331.
Battle
Fighting continued for several days and the total number of American troops reached some 7,000 along with 300 troops from the assisting neighboring islands of Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent. Invading U.S. forces encountered soldiers and advisors from various countries, including 1200 Grenadans, 784 Cubans (636 of which were construction workers and 43 of which were military personnel—both official Cuban figures. The construction workers were all militarily trained and lightly armed, but they were very ineffective militarily), 49 Soviets, 24 North Koreans, 16 East Germans, 14 Bulgarians, and 3 or 4 Libyans.The invasion was the first major operation conducted by the U.S. military since the Vietnam War. By mid December, the American troops withdrew after a new government was appointed by the governor-general. Nineteen U.S. soldiers were killed and 106 were injured in the fighting.Cole, Ronald H. "[Operation Urgent Fury : the planning and execution of joint operations in Grenada, 12 October-2 November 1983]", Joint Electronic Library. page 62. Retrieved January 10, 2006. Cuban and Grenadian losses were reported to be approximately 100 dead and 350 wounded.
Naval forces involved
Amphibious Squadron FourUSS Guam (LPH-9), USS Barnstable County (LST-1197), USS Manitowoc (LST-1180), USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30), USS Trenton (LPD-14)
Independence Task Group
USS Independence (CV-62), USS Richmond K. Turner (CG-20), USS Coontz (DDG-40), USS Caron (DD-970), USS Moosbrugger (DD-980), USS Clifton Sprague (FFG-16), USS Suribachi (AE-21)
In addition, the following ships supported naval operations:
USS Aquila (PHM-4), USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34), USS Briscoe (DD-977), USS Portsmouth (SSN-707), USS Recovery (ARS-43), USS Saipan (LHA-2), USS Sampson (DDG-10). USS Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG-13) & USS Taurus (PHM-3)
Popular culture
The invasion is featured in the last half-hour of Heartbreak Ridge, Clint Eastwood's movie about the United States Marine Corps. The Invasion of Grenada is mentioned in the Adam Sandler movie Anger Management when Adam's "anger buddy" mentioned his past military experience, his "anger buddy' says he was in the Invasion of Grenada, Adam Sandler responds "Didn't Grenada last for like twelve hours?" It is also mentioned in Die Hard 2: the commanding officer of the antagonists reveals that his team of lawbreakers was formed in the invasion of Grenada, "lying on a beach all day".References
External links
- [Operation: Urgent Fury, Grenada]
- [The 1983 Invasion of Grenada, Operation: Urgent Fury]
- [A very thorough history of Operation: Urgent Fury as written by Naval Historians.]
- [Noam Chomsky's report on the invasion in "Necessary Illusions".]
- [Grenada] - a 1984 comic book about the invasion written by the CIA.
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