A Short History of American Intervention in Grenada

With the inauguration of Ronald Reagan in January 1981, the strict cold war principles of the 1950s – the Truman Doctrine, the domino-theory, containment and the belief that the world was organized on a bipolar basis – move backed to the White House after the more ‘lenient’

years of the 1970s.³⁷¹ Reagan disapproved détente, because it weakened the United States internationally, and criticized Carter’s foreign policy, because it disregarded the fact that the cold war was not yet over.³⁷² What is more, Reagan went even further and put the stress on the rollback of Communism rather than its mere containment. Accordingly, the Reagan doctrine prescribed overt and covert aid to support anti-Communist movements around the globe.³⁷³

371 Paterson 1988, 256.

372 Rubin, Barry. 1985. “Reagan Administration Policymaking and Central America.” In Robert S. Leiken, ed.

Central America: Anatomy of Conflict. New York: Pergamon Press and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 301.

373 Scott 1996, especially 1-26.

CEUeTDCollection

In practical terms it meant that the Soviet Union, “the evil empire” in Reagan’s words,³⁷⁴ had to be looked at again as a source of threat. It was seen as a revolutionary power whose aim was to spread Communism. Although the preferred means of ‘fighting’ the USSR was deterrence, the United States should not shrink from confrontation but avoid negotiated settlements. To prevent overextension of the available resources, the United States should not let itself be drawn into every conflict. Instead, it carefully had to choose the regions where it was ready to get involved militarily. The Reagan Administration significantly increased the defense budget so as to be able to carry out such a policy.³⁷⁵

The Caribbean enjoyed special importance in the global struggle. The Reagan Administration resurrected the view of the Caribbean as a US lake, which was considered to be America’s “backyard” and, as such, the United States had vital stakes in the region.³⁷⁶ The long-term influence of the United States in the Caribbean and Central America made it possible for President Reagan to start the fight against Communism immediately, i.e. before the completion of rearmament.³⁷⁷ The CIA was authorized to supply arms for and train the contras in Nicaragua who were fighting the Sandinistas. In El Salvador, Reagan supported the unpopular Duarte regime against the leftist guerillas who received arms-supplies from Cuba and Nicaragua. Economic aid was also put in service of the global struggle: in 1982, President Reagan announced its mini-Marshall plan, the Caribbean Basin Initiative to help overcome the economic problems of the region through free-market solutions.³⁷⁸

By 1983, Grenada had been a trouble spot at the Caribbean for several years. Grenada gained self-governance in 1967 and independence from Britain in 1974. In the first general election in 1967, the Grenada United Labour Party was elected and its leader, Eric Gary,

374 Scott 196, 17-18.

375 Brown 1983, 569-570 and 593-594.

376 Vertzberger 1998, 175.

377 Brown 1983, 575.

378 Molineau, Harold. 1990.US Policy Toward Latin America: From Regionalism to Globalism. Boulder:

Westview Press, 30.

CEUeTDCollection

became Prime Minister. The Gary government was plagued by corruption and economic depression, and political opposition was dealt with through the curtailing of democracy.

However, the restrictive measures only united and radicalized his opposition – mostly young, unemployed intellectuals and professionals – who increasingly sympathized with leftist policies and formed the New Jewel Movement (NJM), which ousted Gary in 1979, instituted a one-party government, suspended the Constitution, and banned democracy.

Not knowing much about Maurice Bishop when he came to power and increasingly dissatisfied with Eric Gary, the Carter administration recognized the Bishop government.

Only later – at Bishop’s defiance of the democratic process and after the institution of closer ties with Cuba – did President Carter start to have second thoughts about the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada.³⁷⁹ Concerns about the Grenadine government were emphatically shared by President Reagan upon coming into office in January 1981. No ambassador was accredited to Grenada and the country was cut off from all aids. American verbal threats as well as the conduct of regular American military exercises in Grenada’s vicinity did not miss Bishop’s attention and created a feeling of insecurity in Grenada.

Yet, Bishop refused to be intimidated, accusing the US of wanting to invade Grenada.

However, the lack of support for Communism among Grenadines, the petering out of the short-lived economic success and, consequently, the mounting threat from the extremist wing of the NJM forced Bishop into a more accommodating position. Seeking international approval to mend his troubles at home, Bishop was surprisingly cooperative during his June 1983 visit to Washington. He agreed to the prerequisites of better US–Grenada relations:

restoration of democracy, stopping anti-American propaganda and, at the least, real non-alignment internationally. ³⁸⁰

379 Williams, Gary. 1997. “Prelude to Intervention. Grenada 1983.”Latin American Studies29 (1): 133.

380 Williams 1997, 134-135; Shultz, George. 1990.Turmoil and Triumph. My Years as Secretary of State. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 324-325.

CEUeTDCollection

Even though the visit ended on a happy note, the domestic political compromise and power sharing with his chief rival, the ideologue Bernard Coard, prevented Bishop to keep his promise.³⁸¹ Moreover, on October 12, 1983, upon his return from a visit to the Communist block, Bishop was ousted from his party and put under house arrest. Popular unrest, popular support for Bishop, and opposition to the allegedly Communist Coard resulted in the freeing of Bishop on October 19. He proceeded to seize Fort Rupert, which he was soon forced to surrender. Subsequently, he and his closest allies were murdered. The following day the leader of the Revolutionary Military Council General Austin – with Coard pulling the strings in the background – was rocketed into power.

The State Department-led Restricted Interagency Group (RIG) and the National Security Council closely monitored developments in Grenada from October 1, 1983. Three days after Bishop was killed, on October 25, President Reagan made the invasion decision, sending American troops to combat for the first time since the War in Vietnam. The decision was carried out in another three days, ousting General Austin from power by November 2.³⁸² The United States committed about 8000 troops in total and the adventure resulted in 19 dead and 115 wounded American soldiers. The financial cost was $ 134.4 million.³⁸³ American troop withdrawal started immediately after reaching the objectives of Operation Urgent Fury and ended by December 15. A contingent of 300 non-combat forces was left behind to insure internal security and train the troops of neighboring Caribbean nations who arrived to help maintain law and order. The government was dissolved and power was put in the hands of the Governor-General. By mid-November a nine-member advisory council was named to help the government in administering the island in the interim period, lasting until the elections in

381 Williams 1997, 134-135; Shultz 1990, 324-325.

382 Vertzberger, Williams, and Beck are all excellent accounts of pre-intervention Grenada politics. Vertzberger 1998, 172-173; Williams 1997; Beck, Robert J. 1993.The Grenada Invasion. Politics, Law, and Foreign Policy Decision-making. Boulder: Westview Press.

383 Beck 1993, 24.

CEUeTDCollection

1984.³⁸⁴ General elections were held on December 8, 1984, where the New National Party won 14 out of 15 seats in the legislature.³⁸⁵