23 years ago Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada and saved Christmas

[underpants]

1983: After the death of leader Maurice Bishop, the island of Grenadau is invaded by 5,000 U.S. Marines and Army Rangers on the pretext of saving "endangered" American lives, and diverting attention from the Lebanon bombing and European anti-nuclear protests. Installation of a pro-U.S. government has since crippled the Caribbean nation's economy.

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=17809#25




That line was that Grenada produces more nutmeg than any other spot on Earth. So, he said, in breaking the code, number one, that is true -- they produce more nutmeg than any other spot on Earth. He said, number two, the Soviets and the Cubans are trying to take Grenada. And number three, you can't have good eggnog without nutmeg. And number four, you can't have Christmas without eggnog. And number five, the Soviets and the Cubans were trying to steal Christmas. And number six, we stopped them.

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/102484c.htm

[Cooley Hurd]

1. I remember scratching my head when it happened....

...it came just 2 days after the barracks bombing in Beirut. I remember thinking, "what does Grenada have to do with defending our troops in Beirut?":crazy:

[KharmaTrain]

2. Ahh...Those Were The Days....

Yep...the Gipper needed to "look strong" and nothing showed "strong" like blowing away a few Cuban mercenaries. It felt good, wasn't much of an effort and came out so nice and tidy. Moral of the story...if you're gonna wage a war of agression, do it on a small island.

This "war" was the first the corporate media had to cover since Vietnam. The year before was the Faukland War and there was this attitude that this war (6 months in a leaky boat) had somehow restored Britian's military esteem...and such a similar invasion would do the same for the U.S. After "losing Nam", the Iran revolution, the Beirut bombings and nearly a decade of American "embarassments", this was a neat, tidy way to "strike back" that made Americans feel good when it did little but make lots of noise and flag waiving. A grand little adventure.

[two gun sid]

3. What I remember most about Grenada....

was the stupidity of it all. I was sent there on a frigate to provide NGFS. I remember reading a article by a journalist that said the invasion was like the Special Olympics for the US Military. Oh, and several of the General Officers got their asses in a jam for siezing captured AK's and trying to bring them back to the states for their personal collections.

The morning we pulled into our homeport the old man got on the 1MC and tolds us that if any of us talked to any journalists about what we had seen or done our asses were out. Reagan and his pals were really big on controlling what info the media got.

[magellan]

4. Yeah, we got the same pep talk

...after the Gulf of Sidra incident in '81. Reagan, like so many Repugs, spent a lot of time using the military to prove his manhood.

[two gun sid]

8. And, like so many repugs...

he never actually served. Unless, of course, you count that stressful tour he did on the backlots of Hollywood during WWII.

That mother fucker will never be dead enough for me.

[underpants]

10. Thank you both for saving Christmas

[peekaloo]

5. He brought ketchup to the Natives!

Single-handedly prevented the Nicaraguans from invading our precious homeland.

He was truly, A Man For All Seasonings!

:patriot:

[ngant17]

6. The Cubans fought bravely

despite overwhelming firepower against them. They were all able and willing to defend themselves against a mindless attack by a superpower, on an island so small you can walk across the length of it in an afternoon.

The original tragedy was the killing of Maurice Bishop, his wife and other innocents in a military firing squad, which contributed to an invasion by US forces for their own nonsensical reasons.

[BlueManDude]

7. Diverting attention from his fiasco in Beirut. Just imagine

if Clinton had sent troops somewhere with no mission and 250 of them lost their lives prompting us to withdraw?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. A glorious victory over a mighty enemy of...construction workers.