THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 25th October 1983

Grenada was invaded by the combined forces of the United States (US) and the Regional Security System (RSS) based in Barbados, in an operation codenamed "Operation Urgent Fury". The invasion happened less than a week after Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada, was executed following a coup by his Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard.

The US justification for the invasion was political instability near US borders, and of course saving American lives, rescuing American medical students attending the island's St. George's University.

The initial invasion consisted of some 1,200 US troops. At the time 500 Cubans were in Grenada including doctors, engineers, teachers and construction workers who were there to help build an international civilian airport. The US forces landed at the airport and killed more than a dozen Cubans and over 40 Grenadian soldiers. The US consolidated its occupation of the island and expanded its force to more than 7,000. By December a pro-American government was installed.

Though the United Nations (UN) General Assembly condemned the invasion as "a flagrant violation of international law" by a vote of 108 to 9, with 27 abstentions it was powerless to act because of the US dominance and power position within the UN; the Security Council failed to pass a similar resolution because of a US veto.

I hope the strategists amongst us can look at the lessons to be learnt from the invasion of Grenada, particularly when viewed in the context of more recent events, particularly in the last 12 to 18 months, throughout the world.

The following clip features footage from the then US President, Ronald Reagan, talking about the threat of communism, and Maurice Bishop strongly opposing the US view that the Caribbean is part of its backyard.