Reagan’s Foreign Policy, Research Paper Example

Although Ronald Reagan’s primary foreign policy legacy will be remembered as the confrontation and ultimate defeat of the Soviet Union, there were many lesser known events that played a key role in this overarching battle. Indeed, one particular foreign policy event in the early 1980s symbolized Reagan’s resolve to fight Communism and served as an early harbinger of the “Reagan doctrine”: The United States invasion of Grenada in 1983.  This paper will take a closer look at the invasion of Grenada including the history that precipitated the US intervention and why the intervention was ultimately undertaken. In particular, Reagan saw the incident as not only an opportunity to protect American interests by evacuating the nearly 1,300 medical students, but also to stem the tide of increasing left-wing governments in Central America.

As the Cold War gradually heated up in the early 1980s, leftist Marxist rebels were making gains in key Central America nations. Indeed, while governments in Guatemala and Honduras openly adopted a more friendly posture to the USSR, the United States also became worried about the island country of Grenada. In 1979, a young revolutionary named Maurice Bishop grabbed power from presiding Prime Minister Eric Gairy.  Bishop and the New Jewel Movement (his party) immediately steered Grenada in a more “leftist” political and economic direction implementing socialistic economic reforms and renationalizing many parts of the Grenadian economy (PBS, 2006). At the same time, the New Jewel Movement maintained a leftist political orientation that included more robust relationships with socialist bloc countries. Although Grenada’s economy developed quickly during this time, economic growth was the top in the region, political reforms came to a near standstill: Indeed, after assuming power, Bishop never held promised elections and maintained close control over the severely weakened political opposition (PBS, 2006). In addition, Bishop cultivated improved diplomatic relations with regional countries including Cuba and Venezuela.

Although Grenada experienced relative stability after Bishop’s coup, a far-leftist faction in the New Jewel Movement was dissatisfied with Bishop’s “centrist policies” and wanted to implement more leftist policies. Intra-party opposition to Bishop eventually boiled over into action: On October 19, 1983, Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard and close advisers executed a coup removing Bishop from power (Schoenhals, 1996). The Army, purportedly acting in its own interests, executed Bishop and his political associates in the chaotic aftermath.  Indeed, the coup turned the relatively placid island into a battle zone.

Grenada’s unstable situation provided numerous difficult decisions for Reagan.  First, Grenada’s new “leftist” leaders would likely take the country closer to the Soviet Union and Cuba.   While increased support for the USSR bloc was a sufficient reason to support intervention in Grenada, there was also another worry: As an increasing number of Central American countries flirted with adopting socialist regimes, a socialist Grenada might serve as a powerful example in the region ushering in a regional political change.  While many observers criticized this tenuous repackaging of the Vietnam War’s putative “domino theory”, the theory still held adherents in the foreign policy community.  Indeed, regardless of the ultimate situation on the ground, the US would likely intervene to maintain stability in its own backyard.

Second, there was a noticeable American citizen presence on the island that was put in danger by the latest political machinations.   Indeed, there were nearly 1,300 American medical students present on the island studying medicine at St. George Medical School when the violence broke out.  While many disputed the ultimate danger the students faced, the specter of a mass American killing must have been foremost on Reagan’s mind as he formulated a response to the coup.

Third, there was a minor chance that Cuba was purportedly using the island as a weapons depot.  Although this point was largely one of speculation, there was reportedly a large buildup of Cuban military weapons and even military personnel on the island.  Ever since Fidel Castro had taken power in Cuba in the 1960s and set up a socialist regime, the country had been a key enemy of the United States.  According to US military intelligence, there was a warehouse full of weapons imported from Cuba- in addition there was an airport being built on the east-side of the island that was reportedly for use by Cuban and USSR forces (Cole, 1997).  Many of these reports were not ultimately confirmed.

After significant discussion with advisors, Reagan made the decision to invade Grenada.  Although there were pockets of domestic opposition to the decision, particularly among some legislators, the invasion went forth:  On October 25, 1983, Reagan authorized Operation “Urgent Fury” the invasion of Grenada by 1,300 American troops; this was the first active deployment of American troops since Vietnam, and symbolized a significant escalation of tensions (Cole, 1997). After a few days of fighting, American troops had rescued all American citizens and stopped the immediate carnage in Grenada.  After the invasion was complete, Grenada not only changed political orientation from leftist to a bulwark of democracy, but it also established a new and robust relationship with the United States.

Overall, many observers consider the invasion of Grenada as a classic application of the Reagan doctrine.  The Reagan doctrine, codified in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was meant to counter Communism at its weakest points through challenging the overthrow of marginal allies present in the Third World.  While Grenada doesn’t seem like a probable “flash point” in the cold war clash between titans, the tenuous position of Central America at the time was a key concern of both the United States and the USSR; the post-invasion Grenada served as a powerful symbol for third world countries across the globe (Payne, Sutton, Thorndike, 1985). In particular, even though Grenada was a relatively small country without significant economic importance, the US was willing to expend blood and treasure to reverse the existing political trend in the region.  Indeed, the creation of a democratic presence on Grenada served as a bulwark against the expansion of socialism- particularly aimed at Cuba.

In addition to serving as a powerful symbol in the region, Grenada also became a seminal case of the still emergent Reagan Doctrine.  While the most tenuous years of the Cold War were still coming, the invasion of Grenada served to shape Reagan’s belief that Communism must be fought anywhere and everywhere- particularly in proxy countries without inherent strategic value.  While explicit military action was rare during the Cold War,  Reagan’s invasion of Grenada served as a powerful symbolic purpose.

References

Cole, Ronald H. (1997). Operation Urgent Fury:The Planning and Execution of Joint Operations in Grenada, 12 October – 2 November 1983. Washington D.C.. http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/history/urgfury.pdf.

PBS (2006).  American Experience: The Invasion of Grenada. Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-grenada/.

Payne, A., Sutton, P., Thorndike, T. (1985).  Grenada: Revolution and Invasion. New York: St. Martin.

Schoenhals, K. (1996). Revolution and Intervention in Grenada: The New Jewel Movement, the United States, and the Caribbean  Boulder: Westview Press.