(Archived document, may contain errors)
380 September 19, 1984 THE GRENADA RESCUE MISSION IS. NOT OVER
INTRODUCTION The Reagan Administration's bold a ction to restore
democracy and a free market economy to Grenada is now threatened by
a com- bination of political inertia and renascent leftist
subversion.
The strategically located island, scene of last October's
historic intervention by forces from six Caribbean islands and the
United States, may be in danger of returning to the unstable
political and economic environment preceding the 1979 Marxist coup
d'etat that carried Grenada solidly into the Soviet/Cuban camp.
Reagan Administration. possible given the overwhelming tactical
superiority of the rescue forces, a prolonged campaign or the
chance that the U.S. medical students would be taken as hostages by
the Grenadian Marxists could have had severe domestic and
international politi- cal repercussions b loc forces from Grenada.l
Recognizing the need to restore the shattered Grenadian economy,
the White House moved quickly to promote public and private aid to
the island. beset with burgeoning problems that could frustrate the
develop- ment of democratic i n stitutions and provide
opportunities for ex- members of the Marxist People's Revolutionary
Government (PRG to regain power. American initiatives equally as
bold as the rescue mission are now needed to restore the positive
momentum generated in the afterma t h of last year's action The
Grenada rescue mission was politically risky for the Although a
military defeat was hardly The rescue did not end with the defeat
and removal of Soviet Yet Grenada remains For a.description of the
events leading up to the U.S a c tion, see Leninism in Grenada I
Problems of Communism, July-August 1984, pp. 33-41. .2 BACKGROUND
The dramatic events of October 1983 left Grenada in a politi- cal
vacuum and economic shambles. Government had largely dissolved
through fratricidal assassin a - tion and imprisonment even before
the allied intervention. Sir Paul Scoon, the Grenadian-born
Governor-General who had retained his vestigial colonial office
throughout the revolutionary period, assumed de ure control of the
island's affairs following t he a nine-member "advisory council"
under the chairmanship of Nicholas Braithwaite to serve as an
interim governing body.
Grenada was an economic dis aster following 4% years of
socialist experimentation and mismanagement. Anti4.S. rhetoric had
frightened away most of the tourist trade, while confiscatory
taxation and suppression of private enterprise nearly strangled the
native business community.
Fro m 1981 to 1983, economic growth was concentrated in the
public sector; all.other sectors declined, with the exception of
contruction (due to work on the Point Salines airport). In 1982
Grenada's Gross Domestic Product was $107 million, with imports
reachi n g 66 percent of GDP. Foreign exchange earnings from cocoa,
the most important cash crop, fell from 10 million in 1979 to $4
million in 1983 1978 to 9,000 tons in 1983, and land under banana
cultivation dropped from 5,000 acres in 1978 to 3,200 acres in 19 8
3 Commercial banks and other credit sources on the island, such. as
insurance companies, had no cash to lend in the aftermath of the
allied rescue mission because the People's Revolutionary
Government's insatiable appetite for funds had drained them of th
eir reserves. By March 1983, the net credit extended to the public
sector amounted to roughly 35 percent of total deposits up from
approximately 14 percent at the end of 19
81. Additional credit was extended to ex-Prime Minister Maurice
Bishop's Marxist re gime in the form of purchases of government
paper, overdrafts, and commercial loans. Grenada's current account
deficit grew from the equivalent of 1 percent of GNP in 1978 to 33
percent in 1982 The People's Revolutionary suspension -5- o allied
martial la w . The Governor-General appointed Banana production
declined from 26,000 tons in PROBLEMS AFTER THE RESCUE MISSION The
Political Climate Members of the advisory council were chosen to be
as non- partisan as possible in the confusing Grenadian political
mil ieu.
One major criterion was that they should have "no vested
interest" in the island. international civil servants with no
training in playing an active role in the government processes. The
advisory council has re- moved several of the most extreme Marxi
sts from diplomatic and As a result, most interim government
members are 3 civil service posts, and made token efforts at
decreasing some of the most odious tariffs imposed by the PRG on
such items as basic foodstuffs It has not developed, however, new
in v estment incen- tives or made changes in the tax codes to
encourage private in vestment. Although members of the advisory
council are aware of the various problems confronting Grenada and
probably are sympa- thetic toward the need for a more dynamic
approa c h to their solu- tion, apathetic inertia has become the
council's trademark This is the central flaw with the interim
advisory council. Because the government is provisional--appointed
rather than elected--its members feel that they have no authority
to e n act the series of measures needed to put Grenada back on its
feet. The island's governing authority therefore exists in a
political limbo, having no mandate to do more than make cosmetic
changes and prepare for the election of a parliament. Advisory
counc i l inertia is reflected in the widespread mood of apathy and
cyni- cism among the electorate. Public opinion polls have revealed
that Grenadians are unsure about their political future and even
less certain about those politicians who aspire to lead them m o
unting. Dissatisfaction with the interim government seems to be we
have examined the interim administration closely and it is now
abundantly clear that they are hamstrung by the limitations they
have placed on themselves and will never make certain import ant
decisions that need to be made The editor of the Grenadian Voice
wrote in March 1984 Let us prepare to thank them for their 2 The
most scholarly of these polls was conducted by Professor William
Adam of George Washington University in January 19
84. Approximately 84 percent of those islanders interviewed were
unable to name anyone they wanted to see emerge as Grenada's next
prime minister, an answer repeatedly quali fied by the statement
that "there were no good leaders they could trust."
Many Grenadia ns voiced objections to holding elections in 1984
and said that an interim government should rule with U.S. support
for at least a few years people questioned would like for Grenada
to officially become part of the United States, demonstrating that
Grenad i ans seem to have temporarily lost confidence in their
ability to rule themselves Not surprisingly, the survey revealed
that 75 percent of the The validity of the George Washington
University poll is borne out by subsequent surveys conducted by a
variety o f regional and international organizations. For example,
a survey taken by the Grenadian Voice news paper in March concurred
in most respects, with an overwhelming majority of respondents (82
percent) stating that elections should be postponed until 1985 o r
1986 turning from exile, and the enumeration of voters has been
extended to accommodate them Both voters and would-be politicians
are still re- .14 efforts and send them back to their chosen fields
of endeavor and let us do so before they have a chance t o make too
many mistakes Grenadians apparently fear, however, what is commonly
called the ''election threat the possibility that divisiveness and
inexperience among centrist political groups could result in a
victory, by default, of either the corrupt, ecc e ntric Sir Eric
Gairy or the surviving members of the Marxist People's Revolu-
tionary Government. Responsible islanders believe that Grenada has
not had sufficient time to recover from years of political strife,
and that the mistakes of the past may be re peated unless new
leaders with fresh ideas are allowed the time necessary for
organizing and campaigning.
The Political Situation Six known political parties are
preparing candidates for the next general elections. These are:
Grenada United Labor Party (GU LP Grenada National Party (GNP
Grenada Democratic Movement GDM National Democratic Party (NDP
Christian Democratic Labor Party (CDLP and Maurice Bishop Patriotic
Movement (MBPM The GNP, GDM, NDP, and CDLP formed a coalition on
August 26 1984, called the N ew National Party.
GULP, the party of former prime minister Sir Eric Gairy, began
actively rebuilding its party organization within days of the
rescue mission. The Grenada United Labor Party grew out of the
trade union movement organized by Gairy in 1950 t o defend
agricultural workers; it continues to draw strong support from
predominately older members of the black peasantry. Although Gairy
states that he will not participate personally in the next
elections, he remains GULP'S dominant force and will almo s t
certainly maneuver his way into Parliament if his party forms a.
government. Critics of Gairy charge that he and his party are on
the far right of the political spectrum. In truth, however, they
are populist, with a strong emphasis on traditionalism and reli-
gion (including Obeah and Shango, the Grenadian variants of Voodoo
GULP is currently the strongest political party and probably would
win 25 to 30 percent of the vote if the elections were held now.
This could enable GULP to capture enough seats in t he 15-member
Parliament to form a government, especially if the remainder of the
vote were split among other contending parties. In.the island's
last elections, held in December 1976, GULP received 52.2 percent
of the votes and captured nine of the fiftee n seats; the remainder
was split, with Maurice Bishop's New Jewel Movement (NJM) receiving
3 the Grenada National Party (GNP) 2, and the United Peoples Party
(UPP) 1 The Grenadian Voice, March 31, 1984, pp. 1, 8, and 9. .5
The GNP, second oldest of Grenada ' s political parties, was
founded in 1955 by Dr. John Watts, a dentist educated at Michigan
State University. Although an early GNP manifesto declared that it
was Ildemocratic socialist, Watts disavowed trade union con-
nections and shaped the party to hav e a multi-class appeal--a
philosophy inherited by Herbert Blaize, a barrister and civil
servant from the dependency island of Carriacou. He has led the GNP
since 1957 The GNPIs main support is drawn from the old merchant
and planter classes as well as from a portion of the new, conserva-
tive black middle class. Based on its record when it held office
from 1957-1961 and from 1962-1967, the GNP is business-oriented.
Its 1961 budget proposed to turn over the government-owned tele-
phone and electricity servic e s to private enterprises and to
grant tax llholidaysfl to a wide range of enterprises The Grenada
Democratic Movement (GDM chaired by Dr. Francis Alexis, emerged in
May 1983 as an alliance of various exile groups opposed to the
Bishop regime. Centrist in i deology, its members comprise a
greater number of university-educated Grenadians than the GNP,
including several former supporters of the PRG who became
disenchanted with its Marxist-Leninist orientation. The GDM had
been allied with the GNP for several m onths prior to the formation
of the New National Party.
The GDM 1ost.a number of its younger followers when the National
Democratic Party (NDP) was formally launched this June by George
Brizan, an economist and educator. The NDP appears social
democratic ' in ideological orientation emphasizing employ- ment
creation through an interrelated program of tourism, agri culture,
fishing, and light industry.
GNPIs Blaize and GDMIs Alexis had been negotiating with Brizan
for several months in an attempt to draw his NDP into a coalition.
alliance that could lead to a Ifgovernment of national reconcilia-
tion, disagreements have hindered progress. Blaize, now leader of
the New National Party, reportedly clashed with Brizan over
economic policy and his unwillingness t o relinquish coalition
leadership. Winston Whyte, chairman of. the Christian Democratic
Labor Party, also resisted efforts to be drawn into a coalition
until the Prime Ministers of Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Lucia
personally intervened.
With the exception of GULP, individual electoral strengths of
the other parties are difficult to estimate.
Whyte, youthful leader of the Christian Democratic Labor Party
(CDLP was elected to parliament in 1976 on the United Although all
three leaders say they want to for m an G.N.P.'s Plan for Grenada
(1955 p. 11: Peoples Party (UPP) ticket. Imprisoned and tortured by
the Bishop regime, Whyte has emerged as something of a hero in
Grenada, and is considered to have a good chance of regaining his
seat. recently won the supp ort of younger GDM defectors who view
him as a conservative counterweight to the liberal Brizan.
The coalition New National Party could win enough seats in the
upcoming Grenadian elections to form a government, although its
members are still squabbling ove r division of constituencies and
the party platform. One important factor that may polarize the vote
even further, however, is the resurgent Left, repre- sented by the
Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM He New Threat From the Left
The political vacuu m and quarrelling among moderate politi- cal
elements is being exploited by those Marxist revolutionaries who
launched the Cuban-supported 1979 coup d'etat that brought Maurice
Bishop's PRG to power. Last January, ex-PRG ministers Kenrick Radix
and George Louison established the Maurice Bishop and Martyrs of
October 19, 1983 Memorial Foundation, which led in June to a new
political party called the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement
(MBPM).
Although publicly disavowed by former PRG moderates such as
Tourism Minister Lyden Ramdhanny, the MBPM plans to field candi-
dates for all 15 parliamentary seats and appears to enjoy at least
a moderate degree of support from young leftist sympathizers in the
civil service and teaching professions as well as unem- ployed
members of the disbanded Peoples Revolutionary Army. Covertly
funded by Cuba and Libya, the MBPM began distributing its Indies
Times newspaper in April.5 circulation of around 2,500, repre s
enting about 5.3 percent of the 46,900 registered voters. The MBPM
is also openly subsidized by support groups such as the New
York-based Grenada Foundation, Inc which is linked to similar
organizations in Canada, Sweden and Britain. The Grenada Foundatio
n counts among its -supporters such personalities as
Representatives John Conyers and Ronald Dellums, Judge Margaret
Burnham, sin er/composer Pete Seeger, and The tabloid now has a the
American Association of Jurists 2 Former PRG officials such as
Organiza t ion of American States Ambassador Dessima Williams and
Press Secretary Don Rojas travel widely in the West and socialist
bloc nations, promoting Bishop Ira true Marxist-LeninistI'--as a
popular and heroic leader mur- dered by a "killer clique1' with
possi ble CIA connections.?
I Information from Leslie Pierre, Editor, The Grenadian Voice,
Washington D.C August 1, 1984 The Grenada Foundation, Inc News
Release, June 19, 1984, p. 1.
Prague, Rude Pravo in Czech, May 5, 1984, pp. 1, 7 (FBIS, May
10, 1984 p. Sl 7 Grenadians are advised to continue Ifresistance
against the invadersi1 while, over media such as Radio Havana, MBPM
spokes- men proclaim that "very soon (Grenada) will be liberated
by,a second revolution which, according to the laws of history, is
inevi t able 118 Such resistance is not empty rhetoric. Crime,
particularly theft, is increasing on the island, reportedly
encouraged by MBPM activists who advise unemployed and disaffected
youths to "liber- ate" items from llimperialistll tourists. This
alone co uld set back Grenada's economic development by keeping
away visitors. The erosion of effective "law and order" is
exacerbated by the fact that the U.S. is forbidden by Congress from
training the Grenada Police Force.
Leftists also remain in the Grenadian g overnment, most notably
within the New York consulate and on the dependency island of
Carriacou, where an ex-PRA officer and youth organizer has been
reappointed to the District Office. employees were dismissed from
the Ministry of Information, which inte r im government chairman
Nicholas Braithwaite said was "packed with people who are not
genuine workers'but are committed to an alien ideological cause.Il9
Braithwaitels words could also be used to describe the Ministries
of Foreign Affairs, Education, Labor , Social Affairs and Women's
Affairs In late May, ten Grenadian sources indicate that While the
MBPM's electoral base may be small, its domestic network, financial
resources and contacts with international leftist organizations
give it potential influence. Bishop remains a hero to many young
Grenadians who have no real Marxist sympathies, a factor being
exploited. Although the MBPM probably does not, as yet, enjoy
enough popular support to win any seats in the next parliamentary
elections, it may well split the 'Ianti-GairyIl vote in key
districts and ensure a victory for GULP candidates. Indeed, this
may be part of a long-range MBPM strategy: a GULP government would
provide the Left with a much greater base for public dissent than
would a centrist coalition A public opinion poll conducted by a
Trinidad research organization showed that 38 percent of the
respondents felt that, on the whole, the Bishop regime had been
good for Grenada; of this 55 percent of those aged 16-21 said the
PRG was good for Grenada, a n d 41 percent of those identified as
Illower class" took this view Maurice The several hundred
Grenadians earlier sent on lleducationalll programs to the
socialist bloc are also a source of potential Havana Domestic
Service in Spanish, May 30, 1984 (FBIS, J une 1, 1984 Bonaire Trans
World Radio in English, May 25, 1984 (FBIS May 30, 1984 PP- Qll,
Q12 p. Sl r 8 subversion or terrorism officers (two of whom are now
in prison) who attended advanced courses in the USSR and four
Grenadians who received Soviet int e lligence and security
traininq. Since March, approximately 40 students have returned to
the island from socialist countries, although 172 remain in Cuba 14
in the Soviet Union and 7 in East Germany. At least six of these
youths were attending MOSCOW'S Int e rnational Leninist Party
School, where mandatory courses included IITactics of Revolutionary
Movementsi1 and IISocial Psy- chology and Propaganda These included
three Grenadian military DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE IN PERSPECTIVE The
Reagan Administration has c ommitted itself to restoring the
political and economic viability of Grenada. To achieve this a
variety of public and private assistance projects have been
initiated in cooperation with other nations and several
international agencies.
Public Sector Aid Ev en as sporadic fighting continued during
the last days of October 1983, the U.S. Agency for International
Development began air-ferrying emergency supplies to Grenada. In
mid-November, the U.S. Congress provided $15 million for medium- to
long-term eco- n o mic development on the island, including a $5
million balance of payments grant to help provide liquidity for
resumption of commercial lending to the private sector, assist the
government of Grenada in meeting local costs of development
programs, and help finance essential supplies of food, raw
materials and spare parts.
Overall, U.S. aid to Grenada is estimated at $57.2 million in EY
1984 and FY 1985, the bulk of which will go to projects in the
early phase of implementation 10 million airport comple- tio n ($19
million); and various other development projects. The controversial
Point Salines airport is scheduled to open offi cially for
commercial flights on October 25, 1984--the first anniversary of
the allied rescue mission--and will employ an estimated 300
Grenadians.
Restoration of the island's badly deteriorated infrastruc- The
Agency for Inter- ture has been given priority by the U.S national
Development is also cooperating with the Ministry of Education to
find.places in Western universities for Gren adian students who
choose to return home from socialist bloc countries. American Peace
Corps volunteers arrived on the island in January to fill teaching
and technical positions left vacant by Cuban instructors. The U.S.
government also is encouraging and assist- ing Grenada to
accelerate economic reforms in 1) divestiture of state-owned
enterprises, 2) return of agricultural lands to the private sector,
3) marketing of agricultural imports and prod ucts, and 4) usury
laws. Australia, and Canada have follo wed the United States in
assisting Grenada.
Such Western nations as Great Britain 9 Private Sector Aid I. I
Enduring stability for Grenada can only come through private sector
jobs creation 30 percent overall, with a much higher percentage
among the under 25 age group--is one of the island's most serious
problems putting together an investment promotion proqram for
Grenada early last November. The Reagan Administratlon also
appointed Ambassador Loren Lawrence--a career foreiqn service
officer with an impre s sive background in Caribbean business--as
U.S. charg6 d'affairs in Grenada Unemployment--conservatively
estimated at The White House Office of Private Sector Initiatives
began Despite an initial euphoria on the island generated by the
combination of exper t promotional work and Grenada's undeniably
great potential, a number of once enthusiastic businessmen from the
U.S. and other countries are now hedging on committing capital to
the island. Would-be investors have been frustrated by the
lackadaisical attit u de and inertia of the interim advisory coun-
cil. Senior corporate executives on-whirlwind visits to the island
have been kept waiting for hours by unconcerned government
officials who often fail to show up for meetings. Sir Eric Gairy
reportedly has atte mpted to solicit 'Icampaign funds" from busi-
nessmen, threatening to revoke the concessions of those who rebuff
him if GULP wins the elections.
Many participants on the White House-sponsored investment
missions have stated that their prime concern is the vacuum in
political leadership in Grenada coupled with the uncertainty of the
investment tax codes. The only new development legislation
enacted--the Investment Incentives Ordinance 1984--is inadequate,
being simply an ambiguous rehash of codes dating bac k to the
1950s, which are noncompetitive in the mid-1980s Caribbean. Other
'Iincentives'l such as the Income Tax Act of the People's Law No 20
of 1980 are actually disincentives due to their socialist nature.
These offer no real tax relief for entrepreneur s and restrict
foreign investors to a narrow range of options.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Political A truely democratic future for
Grenada must be a reflection of the will of the people.
conversations reveal that a majority of Grenadians do not wish to
rush in to one of the most crucial elections in their island's
history.
A compromise is needed: a national referendum should be held in
late October or early November to give Grenadians the chance to
vote on a slate of issues including the date of parlia- mentary
elections and a new constitution. election dates should be included
on the ballot, with late! November 1984, March 1985, and November
1985 as possibilities Public opinion polls and private A choice of
firm 10 A referendum would allow Grenadians to test t h eir
democratic process and demonstrate to the world that they are truly
masters of their own destiny. to approve or disapprove of the
interim advisory council. Such a plebiscite would also permit them
Given the fragility of democratic institutions in Gren a da at
present it should be helped by the recently established U.S
National Endowment for Democracy. is precisely to encourage
development of democratic institutions and procedures, and a
democratic political culture. Grenadian projects would be a most
cos t -effective utilization of Endowment resources The purpose of
the Endowment Economic Grenada must follow the example of such
Caribbean islands as the Caymans, the Bahamas and the Turks and
Caicos in establishing an innovative and highly attractive climate
f or investment. Only a restructuring of the existing investment
incentives and tax code will give Grenada the chance to compete
economically with more developed and experienced West Indian
states. ment legislation is too important to the island's political
, social and economic stability to be left in the hands of a single
ministry or consulting firm: working group comprising members of
the Grenada Chamber of Com- merce, Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, the White House Office of Private Sector Initia t
ives, and others New invest it should be the product of a The
Grenada Chamber of Commerce is a strong and unified force in the
community, with excellent leadership. The Chamber has formulated a
strategy for development which centers on tour- ism and agric u
lture. Its recommendations have won support from U..S. Agency for
International -Development and OPIC. The Chamber advises that the
banana, cocoa and nutmeg associations be imme- diately returned to
cooperative management and control; that the hotels owne d by
Grenada Resorts Corporation be sold to the private sector; that
light industrial facilities such as the Agro-Indus- trial Plant and
the Sugar Factory be sold to private firms; that television and
radio be operated privately and that Marketing and Impo rt Board
operations be limited to the distribution of local fruits and
vegetables, not imported commodities.
Tourism has the greatest potential for providing jobs and an
infusion of much-needed hard currency into the Grenadian economy.
Due to the terms of Reagan's Caribbean Basin Initiative, light
manufacturing also promises to be an important component of the
Grenadian economy. Intelligent land use and sound zoning regula-
tions could help foster tourism and light industrial growth.
Southern Grenada is id e al for tourist-related development because
of proximity to the new international airport and port of St.
George's as much as for its unspoiled beaches. Land in this area is
limited, however, and thus should not be marred by industrial
parks. north of St. George's, particularly in the Temp6 valley
(where a Industry should be encouraged in the undeveloped areas
bottling plant and flour mill exist) and in the environs of the
town of Grenville, which has a port suitable for expansion.
The often overlooked depe ndency of Carriacou--16 miles north of
Grenada--should be designated an "enterprise zoneii or tax haven
using ideas borrowed from Britain's Thatcher government and the
1981 Companies Ordinance and Insurance Ordinance adopted by the
Turks and Caicos Island s . Carriacou, an 11-square-mile island
with 7,000 inhabitants, is well suited for light manufac- turing,
food processing and related enterprises it is relatively flat and
dry and has an airstrip and a sheltered harbor with great
development potential An in novative scheme for virtually
laissez-faire development would serve to provide employment for
inhabitants of both Carriacou and Grenada, as well as serving as an
ongoing publicity vehicle for the island group as a whole.
Security The joint U.S./Caribbean Peacekeeping Force (including
300 American military personnel, 100 of whom are military police)
must be maintained for the foreseeable future to guarantee sta-
bility. should be included in a national referendum to allow t he
Grenadian people to express their wishes on the subject ro tem ore
basis should be granted to the interim government to 5i-r-5 ea wit
subversion and terrorism. Acts of sabotage recently have occurred
and authorities believe that arms caches still exist on the island.
Persons considered security risks-such as ex-PRG members who
continue to travel to the Soviet bloc--should have their passports
revoked Whether to keep.the peacekeeping forces on the island
Special powers on a The Grenada incident highlight s the necessity
for the strengthening of the federation of Caribbean states to
mutually defend against external aggressions A more extensive
regional security program requires 1) an increase in U.S. security
assistance funding and 2) relief from the clause of section 660 of
the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act which bars U.S. training of
security forces. The resulting increased funds should then be used
to expand the existing multinational Regional Defense Force into a
more permanent Caribbean Defense Force cons i sting of primarily
combat infantry troops. Most of the Caribbean nations rely on
regular police forces to both maintain internal law and order and
defend against external aggressors. Increased Military Assistance
.Program and International Military Educat i on and Train- ing
funding is needed to train the 3,370 police in the Eastern
Caribbean, of which only ten percent possess any kind of para-
military training, to help offset shortages of regular regional
army forces in the event of any escalation of hosti lities.1 Report
of the Delegation of Eastern Caribbean and South American Countries
February 1984, U.S. Government Printing Office.
CONCLUSION 12 In the long term, the best means of assuring the
political stability of Grenada is by the election of a modera te,
reform- minded government to administer an economy as free from
legis- lative encumbrances as possible. climate for the growth of
free enterprise can produce the jobs needed to alleviate Grenada's
chronic, and potentially explosive, unemployment probl e m.
providing Grenada with a largesse of recuperative aid is wise, and
should ultimately be the basis for a new era of U.S.-Carib bean
relations. However, to guarantee that the Grenada rescue mission
remains victorious, the White House must be wary of allo w ing
itself to slip into a position of benign neglect toward the island:
wise and decisive actions are once again needed to regain.the
positive momentum generated last October encouraged by the National
Endowment for Democracy, that will allow Grenadians t o decide the
timetable for parliamentary elec- tions'and a new constitution.
Next, the country's economy must be rebuilt. The Grenadian Chamber
of Commerce has a promising market-oriented development strategy.
The White House Office of Private Sector Initi a tives should work
with it to restructure investment incentives,and the tax code, and
U.S. aid should sup- port Grenadian tourism and agriculture
projects that will bring jobs and needed hard currency to the
island. Finally, to guard against external aggre s sion, the U.S.
should grant security assistance to expand the current Regional
Defense Force into a' more.permanent Caribbean Defense Force.
Grenada can become yet another example of the benefits of democ-
racy and free market development Only the creatio n of a fertile
The Reagan Administration's policy of First among these should be a
speedy national referendum With proper guidance Prepared for The
Heritage Foundation by Timothy Ashby President, Caribbean Financial
Consultants Arlington, Virginia