odom@uiucuxc.UUCP (10/26/83)
#N:uiucuxc:21200013:000:720
uiucuxc!odom Oct 25 16:44:00 1983
Would somebody out there in noteland like to
explain to me why we're in Grenada??? i'd have
thought that losing 164 + or - men in Beirut
was enough for one week. did we have too many
Marines, or something? is Reagan having a
Blue Light special on the poor devils???
seriously folks, what's the logic here? i just
heard on my local PBS radio station that we've
actually engaged the Cubans and already have some
deaths. is Grenada strategic? is Reagan trying
to revive the Monroe doctrine via Grenada?
thank god reagan killed the Equal Rights Amendment,
else i might have to defend my country in Grenada.
(lest someone take that last remark seriously, i am
being facetious.)
susanpollack@uicsl.UUCP (10/26/83)
#R:uiucuxc:21200013:uicsl:16300024:000:2826
uicsl!pollack Oct 26 00:49:00 1983
"Why are we in Grenada" You ask?
As Reagun might have put it, "To demonstrate the thesis that the US can
'restore democracy' to a nation being 'ruled out of the barrel of a
gun' by 'Marxist-Leninist thugs' who 'shot their way into power'".
("Why have I been sick to my stomach all day," I ask?)
If it works, and we succeed in setting up a new dictator (probably a
major who incited the generals to coup) to administer the "democracy"
you can be sure that a large percentage of the Grenadian population, who
have participated in the New Jewel Movement, will disappear.
If it works, and if the US people do not protest LOUDLY (Is the "Silent
Majority" as apathetic as the Russian people?), you can be sure that the
thesis will be tested again in Nicaragua, with or without medical
students to protect.
Should Americans be proud of the response time and strategic accuracy
(cut phone lines, take airports, kill Cubans, but forget about
students) of our "Rapid Deployment Force? No, because they were very
well prepared for these military operations. Reports from Barbados over
a year ago had US marines and Green Berets in training with
ex-Granadian soldiers.
It is not the demonstration of violence by a power-hungry and brutal
military that made us invade Grenada, we've been planning it for a long
time. There have been bloody military coups and instability and
Americans in mortal danger in Chile, Turkey, El Slave-ador, Guatemala,
etc. but we haven't invaded a country in this particular fashion since
the Dominican Republic in 1965, ostensibly to protect the assets of
Gulf & Western.
Fact is, that although Bishop was moderately leftist and had wide
support among Grenadians, he still trusted in private enterprise and
international aid. Unfortunately for him, a socialist-tainted
government in this hemisphere is still an irritant to certain leaders
of our great country. And although we have maintained formal
diplomatic relations with Grenada since the "bloodless coup" (read
"change in government by popular demand") in 1979, we have nonetheless
boycotted their economy, accused them of being a Soviet Base, and
refused to greet Bishop as is customary for heads of state when they
visit Washington.
I don't dispute the horror of the murders committed by Grenada's
generals earlier this week, but considering that US troops have been
stationed in Barbados and poised for invading Grenada for some time, it
seems that, rather than acting in their own self-interest, the generals
just took care of some of the preliminary and high-profile dirty-work
of a counter-revolution.
There will undoubtedly be Anti-Intervention Rallies all around the
country in the next few days, and, undoubtedly, the number of people
marching in Washington on Nov. 12 will swell.
Jordan Pollack
...pur-ee!uiucdcs!uicsl!pollackhart@cp1.UUCP (10/27/83)
the answer is simple! ask you neighborhood navy man why barbados is so important to our defense. after you get his answer check out the distance between the two islands. russia would love to have a base in that area as much as we would like to keep them out.
odom@uiucuxc.UUCP (10/28/83)
#R:uiucuxc:21200013:uiucuxc:21200014:000:611
uiucuxc!odom Oct 27 09:57:00 1983
Ok. Obviously you are much better informed on
this issue then I am. (Frankly, I've never HEARd
of Grenada before.) So tell me if it is true
that this is the first known American action
where we have not allowed live news coverage
by our own correspondants??
By the way. I don't think we've got any sort of
debate going on here, Jordan. So far I agree
with you and thank you for the explanation. You
know though, with all this training going on you'd
think we could have broken the hostages out without
such massive foul ups?!
Please note the capitalization.
Susanodom@uiucuxc.UUCP (11/01/83)
#R:uiucuxc:21200013:uiucuxc:21200015:000:939
uiucuxc!odom Oct 31 08:41:00 1983
Hang back a moment here, folks! Since when did
"invasion" become in the "best interests" of the U.S.????
I don't care how strategic something is, since when
did we start invading other countries/lands/places?!?!
The whole thing reminds me of Russia's invitation
from Afghanistan to come in and "help".
I don't know how endangered those students were (and I
haven't seen enough on the news to convince me they were)
but no one has explained what, if any negotiations went
on prior to this hubub to take them out peaceably.
Whether it was justified or not, I am amazed at the
attitude here. What's the difference between us and
the Russians now?? Aren't their ports strategic??
Don't we scream everytime they take over another "strategic"
country?? Seems to me the American philosophy has taken
a dramatic shift AWAY from human rights and back toward
imperialism. Thank you, Mr. Reagan!
susanlllenoir@uok.UUCP (11/03/83)
#R:uiucuxc:21200013:uok:6600002:000:1147
uok!lllenoir Oct 30 17:11:00 1983
cont'd from response # 3
I'm sorry this response is all broken up.
We had a system down while I was in the
middle of writing it.
It seems that when we got to Grenada some of the
people shooting at us where the 500 or so
Cuban workers who were there extending
an airstrip.. and it turns out that the
Cuban military was there in numbers far
in excess of previous reports had indicated.
On top of that there were about 30 Soviet
advisors on the island.
I think from this and other evidence it
is a safe assumption that Grenada was
well on it's way to becoming a Cuban
stronghold from which to extend Cuba's military
presence into South America.
There is one other reason why I personally
feel the invasion was justified. Grenada was
under control of a Marxist dictatorship
which was not there by the choice of the
people. That in itself is bad.. but the
U.S. doesn't need another communist strong-
hold in this hemisphere. By nipping Grenada
in the bud now while it was still easily
controlled, we probably saved ourselves
alot of strife and hardship in the future.
Lionel Lenoir
(University of Oklahoma)