# Why did the US invade Grenada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2000, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962 "2000-11-20T15:35:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hapaXL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@hapaXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hapaXL)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962/21 "2000-11-21T01:06:14Z")
IIRC, more American soldiers were killed in accidents and by friendly fire than by the 18 Cubans “defending” the island. wasn’t this also the case in the Gulf War? I love America! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962/22 "2000-11-21T01:35:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > IIRC, part of the reason for the disorganization was the need to get every branch of the military involved somehow, so they’d all have their shot at fame, honor, glory, and career advancement. I recall Army, Marine, Navy, and Air Force units all being involved in everything that happened. I believe the Air Force’s role was restricted to transport. They didn’t get involved in flying close air support or other combat missions. Those were done by Navy and Marine pilots flying off the carrier. As far as Soviet bombers needing it to fly to Cuba, it’s possible that the runway would allow them to fly a route that’s far away from US territory. A direct route to Cuba goes between the US mainland and Puerto Rico. Whether the Soviets actually planned for this is unknown, but it could have been in some Pentagon nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962/23 "2000-11-21T01:44:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hapaXL \* > IIRC, more American soldiers were killed in accidents and by friendly fire than by the 18 Cubans “defending” the island. > > wasn’t this also the case in the Gulf War? There were Cubans in Iraq? My God, no wonder we attacked! ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962/24 "2000-11-21T04:31:54Z")
This is going against my opinion of staying out. But Grenada is in our sphere of influence, which is backed up by the Truman and Monroe doctrine. The Soviet Union was an outside-this-hemisphere force coming into our sphere of influence. Even if the Beriut incident had not happened, Grenada would have been attacked. Remember that the U.S. had plenty of defeats at that time. Vietnam and Iran were still recent. Johnson did a similar thing in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962/25 "2000-11-21T09:36:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > \*\*I’m pretty sure there were plans already in place. The Pentagon has plans on file for just about any military situation one could imagine. \*\* I remember from a documentry series (in the UK) that the only maps available to the US forces were from an Esso station. If that’s forward planning then I am getting a little nervous. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962/26 "2000-11-21T10:01:23Z")
Yes, but did we oust the government? Put the “democratic Marxists” back in charge? Install a US-friendly government? Lord knows Reagan would have missed the irony of bypassing a democratically elected Marxist government in faor of an imposed capitalist one “in the name of democracy”. (Actually, Reagan would have missed irony if it was painted red and bit him on the ass, but that’s a different gripe). jr8 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-invade-grenada/41962.md?page=1)