| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Grenada, 1983: Catalyst to Upgrading Special Operations |
| 2023-10-21 |
| [RealClearWire] In mid-October 1983, a "sordid little Leninist dictatorship" on the Caribbean Island of Grenada crumbled, resulting in the British Commonwealth country’s takeover by a more-leftist military junta. The situation immediately raised concerns in Washington regarding the potential for a large-scale hostage crisis in addition to the threat of regional instability within the Cold War’s context. From 1979 to 1983, the revolutionary Grenadian government, led by Maurice Bishop, established close ties with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Probably its most important project was the construction of an international airport with a 9,000-foot runway. The government stated the airport was for tourism, but, inexplicably, the hotels to support the anticipated increase in visitors were lacking. Tellingly, the Point Salines airport on Grenada’s southern coast was to be capable of handling Soviet military aircraft. President Ronald Reagan called Grenada "a Soviet-Cuban colony being readied as a major military bastion to export terror and undermine democracy." On October 19, 1983, Bishop — considered not leftist enough by some of his fellow Marxists — was murdered. Within days, Reagan approved the chairman of the joint chiefs’ recommendation to develop plans for possible hostilities on the island, should the Grenadians and/or the Cubans — 450 of the latter were building the airport — oppose a U.S. evacuation of its citizens. Of greatest concern to the Reagan administration was the presence of several hundred medical students on the island. It feared "another Tehran" — referring to the hostage crisis in 1979-80 that contributed to President Jimmy Carter’s failed reelection bid. On October 25, 1983, an eight thousand-member U.S.-led coalition force invaded Grenada. Its objective was to "conduct military operations to protect and evacuate US and designated foreign nationals from Grenada, neutralize Grenadian forces, stabilize the internal situation, and maintain the peace." To no one’s surprise, the operation was one-sided and short — most hostilities ended within 72 hours — but it was somewhat akin to an NFL team defeating a scrub club, 7-3. Regardless of media coverage that gave the impression of a flawless battlefield victory, "it was an ugly win, with many problems" surrounding the employment of special operations forces. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #2 ^Think Vlad were being sarcastic? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-10-21 13:23 |
| #1 So, a "special military operation" to prevent a close neighbor from becoming a base of operations for a geopolitical rival. Where have we heard that recently? |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-10-21 13:11 |