Fasharra Branagan American Presidency Final Marc Lendler 04/03/2013

Reagan and the Grenada Invasion

Introduction
Grenada, a small Caribbean island nation located 100 miles from the coast of the then threatening Nicaragua, was the recipient of a U.S led invasion that only lasted a few weeks. The Invasion of Grenada, also known as its official name of Operation Urgent Fury, is a perfect example of a President using his executive powers to complete an action that he considered of importance. It was an act of presidential leadership that many seem to have forgotten, but had been crucial attack against the spread of Communism during the precarious Cold War. Yes, it is hailed as a victory because the mission the President and his comrades wanted accomplished was in fact completed, but not without some controversial elements. The controversial aspects that riddled this combat was the American Imperialistic Agenda and the illegality under international law and Grenadas status as a Commonwealth of Britain.1 Ronald Reagan at this time believed that it is the American duty to rid the world of Communism and the best way to do that, is to keep it from spreading. Controversial as it may have been, Operation Urgent Fury had been a success even with its obstacles, Reagan used the tools he needed to overcome his foes and make his mark on the world. This lovely little war as one correspondent reported, accurately displayed presidential leadership that ultimately led to a favorable conclusion.

Wiki, Invasion of Grenada

Background
The Grenada Invasion was the first major U.S military operation since the Vietnam War and became a spectacle to countries all around the world.2 An appeal from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States led to the intervention of U.S forces within the country after the coup d'etat of the Grenadian government in 1979.3 On October 25, 1983, President Ronald Reagan launched an attack on this little known nation as a Cold War tactic to disassemble a Marxist-Leninist government that he was certain would become a threat to the United States and its interests. Reagan, allegedly, thought there was a plot underfoot when it became apparent that Cuba was helping to build an air strip in Grenada. With his thoughts, most likely, on the occurrences of Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Reagan claimed that Grenadas construction of an international airport created a runaway which could be used as a Soviet-Cuban air base ( pg. 3, Goodwin). In his mind, with the Cubans and the Soviets already harbouring a relationship, we did not need the added stress of Cuba, Soviet Union, Nicaragua and Grenada forming a solidaric union.4 At this time, he was already helping to plan the coup detat of the Nicaraguan government, so when it became apparent that now was the time to step in, Grenada became next on the list and be saved from the errors of their ways. Reagan was convinced that this airstrip was a way for the Soviet-Cuban influence to make its way to Grenada and create more trouble for the United States. Reagan knew he had to act fast, so without the recipients fully aware, Grenada became the next victim of a political reassembling from yours truly, the United States of America.

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Tools He Used
Persuasive tactics, secrets, lying and evasion of questions kept the media, Congress and the military (certain parts) in the dark of what was going on behind closed doors. Ronald Reagan will forever be known as the Great Communicator, and similar to any other person of influence that desires to reach a large audience, he used the media as a tool to try to accomplish what he wanted. The media was used to connect influence and influence the people to try to get them to see where he was coming from and thus support him in his decisions. Whether it may have been on the subject of the endangered American students, the threat of Communism or Congress standing in his way, Reagan used media to the best of his ability. The Art of Keeping Secrets Secrecy, as Maddow puts it was the controlling force in the planning and execution of Operation Urgent Fury (pg.71, Maddow). Reagan and his team wanted to keep the full extent of the operation under wraps until the last possible moment. So extent was this secrecy, that two years prior the planning of the war may have already been occurring. In the August of 1981, American armed forces were dropped off on Vieques (an island on the coast of Puerto Rico) in a mock invasion.5 These mock invasions took place all across the Caribbean; and when these actions became public knowledge years later, it became even more certain that Reagan may have hid more than what was originally thought. Even during the invasion many personal of the Air Force was not privy to the what exactly was going on. When they dropped the SEALs off to an area location, it was thought that they were just running another training exercise.6 Less than 24 hrs before the operation took its first steps important planning officers made an effort to attend an annual military ball, they believed that not attending would send up red flags that something was underfoot.

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Used As a Cover The safety of the medical students stationed in St.George, Grenada was used as a cover for what he really wanted to get done in Grenada. A small scrap inside the small island left the Prime Minister dead and power now resting in the hands of a military council, in which a four-day curfew was enforced.7 If anyone were to leave their house they would be shot on sight (pg.75, Maddow). In turn, endangering hundreds of medical students within the now dangerously unstable country. This became the perfect excuse for Reagan to progress in his campaign to rid the world of Communism. Quoted from him, he states when questioned by George H.W, Well if we got to go there, we might as well do everything that needs to be done (pg. 76, Maddow). Using the safety of several hundred St. Georges American medical students as an palpable excuse to invade, he garnered support from the American people and undertook his operation. Without Congress full support, a draft decision had been made that that said that it was all about ensuring the the safety of American citizens on Grenada (pg. 75, Maddow). According to Reagan, it was the right thing to do if we are to properly safeguard the American people from the growing Communist threat. The Media Media has been a powerful tool to rally support from citizens ever since the Fireside Chats that Theodore Roosevelt conducted on the daily. Using media to reach the people allowed him to connect in a way that made things seem more real and detrimental. Using the television to broadcast an address to the people he played upon their fears and tried to use them to his advantage. In one address, Reagan says On the small island of Grenada, at the southern end of the Caribbean chain, the Cubans with Soviet backing, are in the process of building an airfield with a ten-thousand-foot runway. Grenada doesnt even have an air

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force. Who is is intended for? (pg. 78, Maddow). At this point, it was no secret that Grenada was building an runway to attract more tourists to the area and even at one point asked the United States for help. He then goes on to show hazy satellite photos of an airfield under construction.8 Using the fear the citizens have been conditioned to feel toward communism, he tried to rally the people to support him and by doing that, pressuring Congress to allow him to intervene. To show to the world and to Congress that he had been correct all along, the government presented the first pictures from Grenada of warehouses that appeared to be stacked with automatic weapons.9 Reagan at this point needed to show American and others alike that the United States could have had another Cuban Missile Crisis if it was not for him. Media like television and radios keep the people informed about the going ons in the government and the areas surrounding them. For many people, what is told to them during a news program is what they tend to believe it. So when Reagan used the media to get his points and ideas acrossed, he knew that it would reach a large audience and help bring more activism to complete his quest.

Obstacles
Reagan had many obstacles when planning and executing Operation Urgent Fury. Such as Congress saying no to his claim that Grenada may become the next national security threat to the United States and limiting his budget. In a speech, he declares It isnt nutmeg thats at stake in the Caribbean and Central America; it is the United States national security (pg. 1, Andersen). Another obstacle that he had to overcome was media and the fact that he did not have any type of surveillance or intelligence coming from Grenada to keep him and the military properly informed.

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Congress One of the obstacles that he was constantly worried about was Congress finding out what he is planning and putting a stop to it before it could be carried out . Before Congress became aware of the probable Grenada Invasion, some information was leaked that Reagan may be helping to fund a coup detat of the Nicaraguan government. To prevent such funding from continuing, Congress prohibited the CIA or the the Department of Defense to approve budget or assistance to help with the removal of Communist governments in Central America. Reagans claims of a Soviet airbase on Grenada failed to even convince the people when he addressed them to help him pressure Congress into changing his mind. Unfortunately, it was to no avail because neither the people nor Congress completely believed everything that he had to say. This was because the plans for this runway dated all the way back to 1954, in which the Grenadians asked for U.S assistance (said no) and was the structure of the base was planned out by the Canadians.10 Convincing Congress of the need to take action was a longshot at best, but that did not stop him from continuing to do what he thought was best for the containment of a politically and physically threatening entity. No Eyes In Grenada From the very beginning, Reagan did not have eyes in Grenada. The American diplomat in this area that would have helped to inform the administration about Caribbean (mostly the communist governments) activities was the ambassador to Barbados. According to reports, the diplomat was offended by the communist government in Grenada that he refused to allow any of his team to visit the island or have any contacts with their leaders.11 This left the Reagan Administration in a pickle, how were they to know exactly

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what was going on within the country? Military personnel that were to plan the operation soon learned that there was very little information on the enemy forces; and the situation on the island was very weak, in terms of the danger of the medical students.12 One Air Force member (was privy to the planning) before the invasion suspected that nobody had requested pre-invasion intelligence on Grenada from the National Security Agency, which monitored international phone calls and radio traffic (pg. 72, Maddow). What this officer suspected was the absolute truth, the government did not want to take the chance of the information leaking to the media or general public. Which is part of the secrecy of the entire operation, because they did not want anyone to find out what they are exactly planning, they kept things secret. Which in turn, made it difficult to gather information without raising suspicions. The Media In this case, the media was both a friend and a foe for Ronald Reagan when it came to Operation Urgent Fury. He needed to persuade and slightly play with the peoples emotions to achieve his desires but he did not want them to know what exactly was going on behind the scenes. He only wanted the media to show what he wanted to the people to know, otherwise he kept it under wraps. The threat of exposure to the public and Congress would end the planning of the operation before it could officially start. In the case of actual footage of the war, he used the lesson from Vietnam. As many know, Vietnam was not censored in any way and the media showed all the gruesome details of the war.13 As said before, Reagan was unsure of the situation in Grenada so when they landed in Grenada, he had no idea if it would be a bloodbath or not.

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Overcoming His Obstacles

Steps He Took to Get Passed Congress When Congress restricted Reagans military spending because of the problems with aiding rebels to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, they unknowingly (at this time), restricted Reagans ability to carry out the specifics of his Grenada Invasion. Using his skills as the a Great Communicator he tried to speak with the people, and have them put pressure on their representatives to loosen the purse strings. In a speech to the people he states, This is why Im speaking to you tonight-to urge you to tell your senators and congressman that you know we must continue to restore our military strength. If we stop in midstream, we will send a signal of decline, of lessened will, to friends and adversaries alike (pg.78, Maddow). Unfortunately, the people did not carry through with what he wanted to be done, so he decided to take a step in another direction. He went to Congress and gave a speech to convince them to let him have financial support to keep up the fight against Communists in Central America. Congress did not bite, and when they became aware of the impending invasion of Grenada, they said no on all accounts. Reagan paid no heed, and on October 4, 1983 he signed National Security Decision Directive 105.14 This decision gave the order to his own national security team to draw up plans for destabilizing the economy and the institutions of Grenada. Like many presidents before him, he ignored Congress and continued on planning his invasion of Grenada. Luckily, the safety of Americans living on the island was brought up and used as an excuse to rally the American people and Congress. Regulating the Media Reagan knew that when the invasion became public knowledge there would be a media frenzy in

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both the United States and other parts of the world. To keep things somewhat secret from the public (after the invasion), journalists and other types of media sources were not allowed on the island during the time of the invasion.15 This regulation even extended into the military in which journalist were not even permitted to go in with the invading force. Adm. Wesley McDonald at the time banned the reporters by saying that it was was for operational reasons even though there was little really violent combat between the two the U.S and Grenadian forces. Out of the weeks that they were in combat less than 100 died in total, and many of them, at least on the side of the U.S, was due to friendly fire.16 The news clips that were shown on tv to educate the public consisted of journalists in helicopters circling the tiny island trying to capture valuable information17 or Pentagon camera crews that supplied incriminating footage (under Tools:Media). This type of reporting was done until October 28, when the members of Congress and the Joint Chief of Staff finally conceded to allow reporters on the isle knowing that they would not capture any shocking footage as they did with Vietnam.

The End Results

Two days after 200-300 servicemen were reported to have been killed in Beirut, Lebanon, Americans forces landed in Grenada to once again prove to the world that they are more than capable of handling any situation. In a matter of weeks the war was over, leaving Grenadians unsure, confused and outgunned. Using the appropriate tools to overcome his obstacles, he was able to accomplish everything he wanted to do without any meaningful complications. The Americans came and conquered, rescuing nearly 600 Americans and 120 foreigners and

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restoring a Constitutionally sound government.18 They were successfully able to eliminate any threat to the stability of the Caribbean and American strategic interests there (pg.1, Cole).19 Before the military officially withdrew from Grenada they established a constitutional government and gave the newly established government a grant of $48.4 m in January of 1984 to help repair some of the problems that they may have been having.20 Ronald Reagan believed that he had saved the country from an imminent threat and was praised for it years later. It was quickly completed and was considered a success at the time but though contentious, it was the first time that pre-emption for security reasons was posed as a justification for military intervention (pg.1, Andersen). Even though it is considered a victory, it became marred by the inadequate time for planning, lack of tactical intelligence, and problems with joint command and control. Even with its faults, they were able to accomplish all of their objectives and help rid this side of the hemisphere of another Communist country that could (with time) have become another Cuba.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the Invasion of Grenada or Operation Urgent Fury is a very important act in the venture of presidential leadership that many have since forgotten. The executive actions Reagan showed leadership by taking initiative even when it seemed everything was playing against him. He was able to accomplish his goals to the fullest and overcome the many obstacles that stood in his way to containing communism on this side of the hemisphere. The medical students were saved from their precarious situation and brought back to the safety of their families and the Soviet-Cuban alliance was unable gain a new ally.

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