October 1983: Quite a month for President Reagan

We remember President Ronald Reagan as a rather consequential president. Let’s remember the events of this week in 1983.

First, a terror bombing in Beirut killed over a hundred U.S. Marines.   

President Reagan was getting ready for reelection and talking about the economic recovery underway. However, he had to deal with a major terrorist attack in Beirut when a suicide bomber drove a truck filled with 2,000 pounds of explosives into a U.S. Marine base at the international airport:   

The explosion killed 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers. 

A few minutes after that bomb went off, a second bomber drove into the basement of the nearby French paratroopers’ barracks, killing 58 more people.  

Four months after the bombing, American forces left Lebanon without retaliating.

It was a terrible story and one of the early signs of terrorism. Many criticized President Reagan for not retaliating, but I am not exactly sure what response could have followed this attack.

A few days later, President Reagan invaded Grenada. It turned out to be a major victory against Fidel Castro that prevented the USSR from having another strategic piece of real estate.   

Grenada was a small island where some U.S. citizens were attending medical school. Most people had never heard of Grenada or the Cuban efforts to turn the island into a communist beachhead, an important runway for Soviet MiGs.

However, the Reagan administration had their eye on Grenada for some time. They knew the strategic importance of Grenada and its proximity to the Panama Canal.    

We learned a lot that week about President Reagan and how foreign policy can force itself on the agenda. In Beirut, we were introduced to the type of terrorism that we saw eventually on 9/11. In Grenada, we saw President Reagan as the competent leader of the free world, or a man unwilling to let the USSR gain a strategic foothold over here.

It was quite a week for President Reagan and the U.S.

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Grenada 1983: A victory for the good guys and a big defeat for Cuba’s Castro

Back on this day in 1983, President Reagan invaded Grenada.  It turned out to be a major victory against Fidel Castro and prevented the USSR from having another strategic piece of real estate over here.

Grenada was a small island where some U.S. citizens were attending medical school. Most people had never heard of Grenada or the Cuban efforts to turn the island into a communist beachhead, an important runway for Soviet MiGs. 

However, the Reagan administration had their eye on Grenada for some time. They knew the strategic importance of Grenada and its proximity to the Panama Canal.     

We also learned on this week in 1983 how foreign policy can force itself on the agenda.  

In Grenada, we saw President Reagan as the competent leader of the free world, or a man unwilling to let the USSR gain a strategic foothold over here. 

It was quite a week for leadership, President Reagan and the U.S. 

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President Reagan and Grenada 1983

Back in October 1983, I was in Mexico City visiting some clients.

On the day of the Grenada invasion, I attended a scheduled lunch at a local chamber of commerce. There were several Mexican businessmen and politicians at my table.  

We quickly started talking about the news of the day; President Reagan's decision to invade Grenada.

Grenada was a small island where US citizens were attending medical school. Most people had never heard of Grenada or the Cuban efforts to turn the island into a communist beachhead, an important runway for Soviet MIGs.

However, the Reagan administration had their eye on Grenada for some time. They knew the strategic importance of Grenada and its proximity to The Panama Canal. 

As I sat down to have lunch, I found their reactions to be surprising, especially given Mexico's criticism of US support of the UK in the Falklands the year before.

I prepared myself for a lot of criticism of President Reagan and "Yankee imperialists." To my pleasant surprise, I heard the exact opposite:

1) One politician directly said: "Carter would have never done this! He would have been afraid";

2) A businessman said: "This is why I love Reagan....the man is "un lider", i.e. a leader;

My favorite one came from one prominent Mexican politician who gave me the thumbs up and said: Reagan 1, Castro 0!

After the lunch meeting, I walked back to my office trying to understand their reactions.

I came to one conclusion: People like to see US leadership and determination. They want a strong president because a weak US president is such a lousy alternative.

Thank you President Reagan for pushing Fidel Castro back and giving communism a major defeat!

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October 23, 1983: Beirut and many Marines dead

US presidents can not control what happens in other countries.  Nevertheless, they have to react to them or get that "famous 3 am phone call" about this crisis or that.

On this day in 1983, President Reagan was getting ready for reelection and talking about the economic recovery underway.   However, he woke up learning of a major terrorist attack in Beirut:  The explosion killed 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers!

It was a terrible day for President Reagan and the nation.  It was also one of the early signs of terrorism.

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1983 World Series: Scott McGregor beat Phillies 5-0

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The Orioles played in their second World Series in 5 years.   They lost to the Pirates in 1979 but beat the Phillies in 1983.    Scott McGregor pitched beautifully and Eddie Murray hit a couple of home runs.    

Great win for the O's.

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