Operation Urgent Fury

The United States Invasion of Grenada, also called Operation Urgent Fury, was an invasion made my United States troops onto the small island of Grenada to stop the island that had been forcefully, bloodily taken over by the Communist Deputy Prime Minister, Bernard Coard. In this paper, I will explain the history of the island of Grenada, and what led to the United States’ Intervention. The United States Battle of Grenada, also referred to as Operation Urgent Fury, was significant because using the safety of the American students in Grenada as their excuse, the U.S. was able to eliminate a Communist regime allied with Cuba. Grenada is a small island located in the Caribbean, southeast of Mexico, and north of Venezuela. The population of Grenada

In 1650, the French captured the island, after the British failed in trying to settle there, and kept it until 1783 when the British seized, and regained control. Recently, in 1974, the island of Grenada finally received independence from Britain. The island established a government, led by Sir Eric Gairy, and he gradually made the island totalitarian, which in turn led the citizens to revolt. In March 1979, while Gairy went to New York to meet with United Nations, a man named Maurice Bishop, a respected member of society, led a coup take over control of the Government in Grenada, and succeeded ("The U.S. Invasion"). Bishop’s main goal was to enact a new form of government for Grenada based on the Marxist-Leninist ideas, which would to him creating ties with Cuba and Russia ("The U.S. Invasion"). In 1983, Reagan was notified of this possible trouble in Grenada. Reagan became most worried with the invitation by the Grenadian Prime Minister of Cuban construction workers and military members constructing a 10,000 foot airstrip on the island. President Reagan of the United States saw this as a threat because they would then have the opportunity to stockpile arms, and build up their military, though Bishop claimed the purpose was only to allow commercial jets to land, increasing tourism ("PBS"). While the construction was being overseen though, the deputy prime minister of the island, Bernard

George’s School of Medicine in Grenada, but also the ties that Grenada had with the Communist country of Cuba. Reagan, joined by many advisors, along with opinions and thoughts of the American public, decided that the rescue of these American students was justification enough for invasion of the island ("PBS"). Along with worrying about the safety of the students that were in Grenada, it also worked to Reagan’s advantage having that excuse to invade the island, and try to slow the spread of Cuba’s