In October 25th, 1983, the Caribbean island of Grenada would be subject to an aerial and amphibious invasion by the U.S. military as a result of a highly unusual set of circumstances. In this first of a two-part series, we will examine the troubled military planning and political justifications behind the U.S. invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury). The second part will look at the execution of this complex air, naval and ground operation, the many shortcomings of which still offer relevant lessons for today.
1986 called. It questions your patriotism.Depending on who you ask, the cause of the U.S. invasion of Grenada was either because the island had chosen the wrong side in the Cold War, that its Communist government had been violently deposed by hardliners and order needed to be restored, or that the foreign students attending medical school there were in need of evacuation. Some would even argue that the true cause was a mixture of domestic politics and an incident thousands of miles away in the Middle East.