GRENADA/U.S.)WOODRUFF

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000301410019-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 6, 2010
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: October 25, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/01/06: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000301410019-1
PBS MACNEIL/LEHRER NEWSHOUR
25 October 1984
'GRENADA/U.S.>WOODRUFF: It was one year ago today that American troops
led an invasion of the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada in
order to overthrow its Marxist government. In Grenada
there are no celebrations planned by the interim
government that took over U.S. soldiers left. And in this
country the highest ranking Army officer who took part in
the invasion said in a newspaper interview that his first
reaction on getting word that the operation was on was,
'Why on earth Grenada?' But Maj. Gen. Norman Schwartzcof
told the Atlanta Constitution that he later understood why when he saw how happy the island residents were to have
the Americans come in. Charlene Hunter-Gault was one of
the first reporters to get onto Grenada after the
invasion. Recently she went back to see what has happened
in the past year. Charlene?
LEHRER: Charlayne, a couple of questions. First of all,
do, what do the people in Grenada call the U.S. action?
Do they call it an, an invasion, as we do?
h_UNTER-GAULT: Absolutely not. Just about any time you
mention 'invasion' in Grenada, anybody you mention it to
corrects you and says it was a rescue mission. I. finally
was pushed into a corner and started to have to refer to
it as 'the events of last October' so as not to...
LEHRER: I see. I see. And the attitude toward the
action, then, is, is all positive, or it's not all
positive?
HUNTER-GAULT: Well, I wouldn't say all positive. That's
the big trap that you fall into. I think that there's no
question that there's universal appreciation for what the
dinited States did, and I think that for the most part, the
business sector and, and even people you talk to just who
don't have any ideological bent necessarily going, feel
that the U.S. presence is good. But the dangerous thing
about Grenada and trying to tape a piece, like the one
we've just taken... I mean, it's accurate. I, I attest
to that. But there's still so much fear in the country
that, even this time last year I found fear, but now
people still have a fear of the unknown. Last year it was
who killed Bishop? Why. was he killed? Will we be next?
This year it's, what's going to happen in the trials? Are
the people going to be convicted? Are there any more of
the army people still out there organizing to come back?
And also, there is some subliminal fear, I think, of the
United States in some quarters. I mean, one little guy on
the beach told me one day, 'You know, I don't know if I
can talk to you. You may be CIA. This place is crawling
Continued
Approved For Release 2010/01/06: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000301410019-1
 Approved For Release 2010/01/06: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000301410019-1
with CIA.' So, you know, whether that's true or not, and
there, there are people who believe that, and there are
just all kinds of things that make the people very
restrained. So I don't think that they don't tell you the
truth when you talk to then, I just think that they don't
always tell you the whole truth.
rxc.wrz?
Approved For Release 2010/01/06: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000301410019-1