On America’s Invasion of Grenada

In April 1975, the American military was defeated in Vietnam. On October  23, 1983, the U.S. Marines Corps barracks in Beirut suffered a devastating attack in which hundreds were killed—this was the bloodiest attack ever on an American military post. 

The American political establishment was now in a desperate need of flexing its muscles somewhere in the world to prove to their own population and to outsiders that they were still capable of fighting wars. So Ronald Reagan decided to invade the “tiny” state of Grenada which has a population of barely 100,000 people and an army consisting of less than 2000 lightly-armed and badly-trained soldiers. On October 25, just two days after the Beirut attack on Marines Corps barracks, the American military (about 7,600 soldiers equipped with high-tech weaponry and air support) invaded Grenada. 

There was no military reason for invading Grenada. The Reagan administration orchestrated the invasion for the sole purpose of proving that America was not a weak nation. In his speech, Reagan proclaimed: “Our days of weakness are over! Our military forces are back on their feet, and standing tall!” The world was not convinced by Reagan’s tough talk. Grenada, a tiny nation with barely any military, is not the place where you prove your strength. You prove your strength by fighting someone of your own size.