Friend or Foe? The US Invades Grenada

The US-led invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada at the alleged behest of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) on 25 October 1983 had a profound negative impact upon the development of the Special Relationship under Reagan and Thatcher. The dubious legality of the intervention was widely criticised by the international community, most notably the UK. And yet, it was the Thatcher government that bore the scars of considerable domestic criticism regarding the unlawful US involvement in the internal affairs of a member of the British Commonwealth. The US invasion of Grenada, or operation ‘Urgent Fury’ as it is otherwise known, raised important questions regarding the limits of British credibility and importance within the Anglo-American alliance.

The Special Relationship and the Falklands War

The Falklands War between Britain and Argentina from April to June 1982 was an emotive political and ideological issue for the UK and its Prime Minister, who fought tirelessly to safeguard the Falkland islanders’ right to self-determination. The war represented a considerable financial and moral commitment by the British to the Falkland Islands and their 1,800 inhabitants in a time of significant economic uncertainty in the UK. Notwithstanding this, Britain’s hegemony and influence over the islands was reasserted in the face of perceived Argentine aggression. Britain’s victory was considered a great success in the UK given the strategic difficulties involved in orchestrating a war in a wind-swept archipelago nearly 8,000 miles from the British mainland, but a mere 400 miles from Argentina. Moreover, it helped to secure Thatcher’s re-election the following year and was a source of national pride for the jubilant British public.1

Vested Interests: US Involvement in the Anglo-Guatemalan Dispute

The question of Belizean independence was an important issue for both the Reagan and Thatcher governments in the early 1980s. For the UK, Belizean independence represented an opportunity to reduce its financial obligations in maintaining a former British colony. It also afforded the UK an opportunity to secure a Belizean commitment to the British Commonwealth. The US saw Belizean independence as a means to counter Soviet expansion in the region and as a bulwark against the possible expansion of leftist guerrilla activity from neighbouring Honduras. This was particularly important to the Reagan administration given the perceived communist threat in the region from Cuba, Nicaragua and El Salvador.1 A democratic Belize would provide the US with a valuable political and ideological ally given its strategic location bordered on two sides by both Honduras and Guatemala. The US also hoped that involvement in the Belizean issue would help it to establish closer ties with Guatemala. Improved US– Guatemalan relations would allow the US to explore the possibilities of renewed US–Guatemalan military trade and, to a lesser extent, the construction of a US naval base in Guatemala.

Introduction

Individuals and relations between leaders play a role in international politics. The broadly parallel leaderships of President Ronald W. Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saw a revival of the Anglo-American ‘Special Relationship’ in the 1980s. The quality and intensity of their personal rapport is frequently assumed to have played a role in this. Deepening Cold War tensions and a strong anti-communist rhetoric also played important roles in drawing the two leaders closer. A commonality of many critical interests, along with cultural, linguistic, political and filial ties, underpinned their growing attachment and friendship. In addition, pre-existing intelligence cooperation, defence and nuclear interdependence (most would say British dependence on the US) helped to forge strong links between both countries....

Conclusion

Reagan and Thatcher forged a formidable alliance in a time of increasing Cold War tension and omnipresent fears of communist expansionism. Their close working, and indeed, personal, relationship was supported by a mutual respect and admiration, by shared fiscal and political ideologies and a strong anti-communist rhetoric. Despite the changing domestic and international realities of the UK and the US, both leaders were committed to a strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries. Their relationship had an ease and level of familiarity that weathered their often diverging strategic interests, particularly in Latin America. Despite their often seemingly incompatible individual foreign policy objectives, the relationship continued to evolve and deepen. This strengthening in relations repaired the cleavages that emerged through challenges presented in the Latin American region during the 1980s....

Nicaragua: The Allies Stand Together

US involvement in Nicaragua during the Reagan administration became synonymous with subterfuge, illegal and covert operations, a disregard for congressional and public approval, and the infamous Iran–Contra scandal. Nicaragua was a country of significant strategic geographical importance to the US due to its central location in Latin America. It provided the Reagan administration with a chance to quash the perceived communist threat in the form of the Sandinista government. Thus, US involvement in Nicaragua was characterised by deep-rooted Cold War suppositions. Removing the Sandinistas from power became one of the foremost foreign policy objectives of the Reagan administration. US hegemony in the region was threatened by what the Americans saw as a Marxist proxy in Latin America in the guise of the Sandinistas. Nicaragua’s close association with Cuba and the Eastern bloc fuelled US fears of Marxist expansionism in the region. Reagan could not, nor would not, allow the US to be further isolated in its own backyard.

The 1970s: A Decline in Anglo-American Specialness and US–UK Relations with Latin America

Anglo-American relations could not be termed as particularly ‘special’ during the 1970s. This was a decade of overall decline in the Special Relationship. The relationship ebbed and flowed and experienced moments of improved cooperation and development, but these were largely overshadowed by diverging political and economic interests, growing US isolationism and a decline in British influence in world affairs.1 It can come as no surprise that the Latin American region held little importance to wider Anglo-American relations at this time. In fact, the region was marginalised by both the US and the UK governments in the 1970s as various domestic issues came to the fore. There was one exception, and that was Chile; US–UK relations with Chile were predicated upon a desire to closely monitor the regime of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. This chapter will examine the tone of Anglo-American relations in the 1970s as a benchmark from which to appreciate the importance of the subsequent Reagan–Thatcher relationship. It will also briefly examine relations between Thatcher and Carter from 1979 to 1981 as a period of indifferent quality in bilateral relations.