User:Gavygav/Central America War
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The Central America War encompasses all regional conflicts, civil wars, guerrilla activity, military operations, political unrest, terrorist activity, covert illegal arms and drug trafficking activity conducted in Central America from 1979 to 1992. The CENTRAL AMERICA WAR (C.A. War), orchestrated by the United States and Soviet Union Cold War antagonist superpowers occurred primarily on the isthmus of Central America involving the countries of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala and the island nation of Cuba. This article introduces the historical significants of properly designating the C.A. War as one regional conflict encompassing the Salvadoran Civil War, the Nicaraguan Revolution, U.S. lead operations Urgent Fury and Just Cause, and all civil unrest, guerrilla warfare, disappearances, death squad activity, subversion and oppressive activity, felony criminal activity directly related to the war, terrorist activity and arms/drug trafficking during the war combined as the Central America War. Democracy versus Communism, the true Cold War ideological tug-of-war all involved the same underlying political socioeconomic structures and ideology-one overall war designation is appropriate. Some would argue the C.A. War of 1979-1992 was simply a continuation of the Nicaraguan Revolution beginning in 1960 and enhanced by the ouster of Anastasio Somoza in July 1979 by the Sandinista Revolutionary movement on a regional and international scale.
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Central America War | |||||||
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Part of the Cold War | |||||||
Map of Central America | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States Central American states: Guerilla rebel force:
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Soviet Union Cuba Central American states: | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ronald Reagan William Crowe Paul Gorman |
Daniel Ortega Fidel Castro | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
United States: 200,000 Honduras: 20,000 |
Nicaragua: ≈150,000 Cuba: 2,500[4]: 6, 26, 62 Soviet Union: 49 North Korea: 24[3] East Germany: 16 Bulgaria: 14 Libya: 3 or 4 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
United States: 311 killed[5] 1,500 wounded[4]: 6, 62 35 helicopters lost |
Nicaragua:
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200,000+ killed |
The USG employed numerous Task Forces and Emergency Readiness Deployment Exercises, but the mainstay of the Honduran based U.S. military operations was Joint Task Force-Bravo, which was officially enacted by the U.S. Pentagon on August 1, 1984, but was preceded by Joint Task Force-11 and Alpha respectively. The post Anastasio Samoza regional war was lead by the Sandinista Peoples Army on the communist side.
After the Sandinista National Liberation Front seized power, U.S. and Nicaragua relations began to wither. The leftist FSLN seized power in a brutal civil war from 1978-1979 that was highly opposed by the Carter Administration. Once President Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 and assumed the presidency in January 1981, he immediately initiated National Security Decision Directives authorizing covert and overt military and paramilitary operations against the Sandinista government. There are no clear exact beginning and end dates to this highly covert war.
U.S. military air and land based operations were augmented by U.S. Navy destroyer and air craft carrier fleets on an almost continues basis within the Gulf of Fonseca, the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean side of the isthmus.
The U.S. Army's Rapid Deployment Force (1st, 2nd Ranger Battalions and 82nd Airborne Division Paratroopers), U.S. Marines, U.S. Army Delta Force, and U.S. Navy SEALs and other combined forces constituted the 7,600 troops from the United States, Jamaica, and members of the Regional Security System (RSS)[7] defeated Grenadian resistance after a low-altitude airborne assault by the 75th Rangers on Point Salines Airport on the southern end of the island, and a Marine helicopter and amphibious landing occurred on the northern end at Pearl's Airfield shortly afterward. The military government of Hudson Austin was deposed and replaced by a government appointed by Governor-General Paul Scoon until elections were held in 1984.
The covert and overt military operations disguised as training and war games were highly criticized by a number of prominent countries including the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as the United Nations General Assembly, which on 2 November 1983 with a vote of 108 to 9 condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law".[8] Conversely, it was reported to have enjoyed broad public support in the United States[9] as well as some sectors in Grenada from local groups who viewed the 4 year post-coup regime as illegitimate.[10] The U.S. awarded more than 5,000 medals for merit and valor.[11][12]
The date of the invasion is now a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day. The Point Salines International Airport was renamed in honor of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop on the 65th anniversary of his birth on 29 May 2009.[13][14] Hundreds of Grenadians turned out to commemorate the historical event. Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and close friend of Bishop gave the key note speech and referred to the renaming as an act of the Grenadian people coming home to themselves. He also hoped that it will help bring closure to a chapter of denial in Grenada's history. The invasion also highlighted problematic issues with communication and coordination between the different branches of the United States military when operating together as a joint force, contributing to investigations and sweeping changes in the form of the Goldwater-Nichols Act and other reorganizations.