ABSTRACT
This chapter establishes a framework based on applicable indications and warning (I&W) concepts. It identifies the indications which led to the determination of threat and describes the setting for the decision to intervene and the lessons to be learned. Confronted with the threats, US decision makers at the executive level had to play their role in the warning cycle, that is, to make a decision and authorize appropriate action. The history of tension between Grenada and the United States is relatively short by comparison. Overt political, military, and economic indicators like these, in addition to a tradition of human rights abuses dating back to Eric M. Gairy's regime, exerted a tremendous influence on US policy toward Grenada. Grenada was particularly vulnerable at the time due to the chaotic internal situation on the island. The United States could also make the reasonable assumption that Grenada's allies would not significantly lessen that vulnerability.
