Oregon daily
emerald
Thursday, October 27, 1983
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 85, Number 39
at risk
MEDI'
.
People around world wait anxiously;
invasion, chain of bombings continues
From Associated Press reports
The invasion of Grenada by almost
2,000 U.S. troops has given pause to
most of the nation and several parts of
the world. Wednesday the United
States landed about 800 paratroopers in Grenada to rein
force the troops already there.
Pentagon sources reported six U.S. troops killed,
eight missing and 33 wounded. "There will be some
more casualties because the price of freedom is high,"
said Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger earlier.
A Cuban government announcement in Havana said
six U.S. helicopter gunships attacked Cuban positions or
Grenada before dawn Wednesday, destroying the
Cubans' main building at the Point Salines airfield. It sai<
the last six Cuban defenders "sacrificed" themselves
rather than surrender.
The Barbados state-owned Caribbean Broadcasting
Co. said at least 30 Cubans were killed in the attack. It
said Grenadian troops in armored cars and snipers in
houses were firing on American forces trying to advance
into the southern part of St. George's, the capital.
Analysis
But many questions remain. Questions such as why
U.S. troops were sent to Grenada.
Pres. Ronald Reagan outlined three goals for the
operation — "to protect innocent lives," "to forestall fur
ther chaos" and "to assist in the restoration of condition
of law and order."
U.S. officials said privately that they planned to
reinstall the British governor-general and have him ap
point a provisional government in Grenada. The officials
said members of the military council which seized con
trol of the island following the ouster and murder of
Prime Minister Maurice Bishop would be arrested. It was
not clear what might be in store for them.
U.S. officials said the invasion was proposed by
members of the Association of Eastern Caribbean States
— tiny, English-speaking island states which have express
ed alarm about Grenada.
And people seem to wonder where, and what exacth
is causing such alarm.
Grenada, a 133-square mile
former British colony which lies
150 miles north of Venezuela, has been
a longstanding source of concern to the
Reagan administration. Bishop, a Marxist who
overthrew an elected government in 1979, built
close ties with Cuba and drew sharp criticism
from Washington.
But the administration was more alarmed
when Bishop was overthrown and slain
by far-left elements last week.
Secretary of State George S^^Ji*^****-}
Shultz said Tuesday that he^
I regarded Grenada as being
without a functioning, legal government.
And how do Grenadians, and the rest of the world,
feel?
Grenada asked the U.N. Security Council early
Wednesday to condemn the invasion by nearly 2,000 U.S.
Marines and Army paratroopers.
“We must ask this council to express its strongest
condemnation, because if we do not do that, what is hap
pening to Grenada will happen to somebody else," said
Ian Jacobs, deputy chief of Grenada's U.N. mission,
Tuesday.
Leftist-led Nicaragua, communist Cuba and Mexico,
with some of the same concerns, on Tuesday condemned
4 the U.S. invasion of Grenada, but most other Latin
American governments reserved comment or made
cautiously-worded statements of concern.
Mexico's Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded
communique saying the invasion creates new dangers for
peace in the Caribbean and Central America. It urged the
U.N. Security Council to take steps to force the
withdrawal of "the foreign troops" from Grenada.
Nicaragua's Sandinista government said in a com
munique from Managua, "This act must be interpreted as
a new aggression against the people of Latin America and
the Caribbean."
U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, a
' Peruvian, said he was "particularly disturbed over the
possibility that the escalation of tensions could further
complicate an already complex situation in the region.''
General Assembly Pres. )orge lllueca of Panama said the
“use of force is regrettable."
.
^LO,r,dT" ^
In the United States, Congressional Democrats
accused Reagan of failing to comply with the
War Powers Act and promised Wednesday to
assert their authority to pull troops out of
Grenada after 60 days if they are not withdrawn
sooner.
• q me Democratic minority in tne senate unani
mously approved a resolution declaring that the
notice Reagan sent to congressional leaders a
few hours after Tuesday's landing on the Carib
bean island "does not fulfill the requirements"
of the 1973 act.
In his notification, Reagan took note
of the Vietnam-era war
powers law but did not invoke
the provisions limiting a presi
dent's power'to keep troops in com
bat or in overseas areas of potential
% combat without congressional
p ^v'\ approval. Reagan also said he was
acting "in accordance with my
desire that the Congress be
informed on this matter,
and consistent with the
War Powers Resolution."
This was the same lan
guage he used 13 months
ago when he announced
he was sending Marines
into Lebanon to partici
pate in an international
peacekeeping force in
that strife-torn Mideast
ern country.
The announcement also
came a day after U.S. Marines
were ordered into sand-bagged
bunkers and told to "shoot to kill"
Continued on Page 3
Z>.
GREN
How do students feel about US. invasion of Grenada?
i—m———ii—r"nr~
'The importance, of
course, was to make
sure the Americans
were protected/
— Mike Ridenour,
senior, political science
m
'I'm shocked... It's
leading us more into a
chance of war ... He's
(Reagan) egging it on/
— Lisa Layne, junior,
psychology
mmm
7 think it's ridicu
lous . . . Here we go
again with Vietnam.
Have we learned
anything?'
— Micheal Williams,
junior, journalism
7 don't think we should
be there. I don't think
the people are behind it,
especially after the
bomb attack/
— Shelby Robertson,
senior, marketing
Photos by left Dreiling
'What does our country
have to do with
Grenada?... (It's) none
of America's business.'
— Eddie Garaza,
freshman, political
science