OOOOH! Where do I sign up? Reliving the Reagan years with Oliver North, Ed Meese, and Wayne LaPierre. What fun! _______________________________ Oliver North leading Caribbean cruise to celebrate 20th anniversary of U.S. invasion of Grenada Thu Nov 21, 4:23 PM ET By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Former White House aide Oliver North will lead scores of supporters on a Caribbean cruise next year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Grenada. North, the retired lieutenant colonel at the center of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, said those who step off the ship in Grenada will be paying a fitting tribute to U.S. troops who helped "reverse the communist takeover." "It's a great opportunity for Americans to see a piece of modern history," North said in a telephone interview Tuesday night from Washington. "The idea of a 20th anniversary cruise seemed kind of appropriate." Some question the propriety of lauding an invasion they say was unnecessary, especially one that left 58 dead. Twenty-four Cubans, 18 Americans and 16 Grenadians died. "There are a lot of mixed feelings," said Kecia Lowe, a doctor who as a teenager woke up on Oct. 25, 1983, to see a U.S. aircraft carrier on the horizon. "To hear the bombs dropping, it was all very traumatic for me." Thousands of soldiers, Marines and paratroopers stormed the island in what the Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) administration called "Operation Urgent Fury." Six days before the invasion, the country's charismatic Marxist leader, Maurice Bishop, was killed by a firing squad in an internal power struggle. Reagan said the invasion was to restore order, protect Americans — including several hundred medical students — and halt expansion of Cuban influence on the island. Some Grenadians welcomed the U.S. troops; others resented the intervention. North said he played a "small role" while an aide to Reagan's National Security Council. "It helped change the world for the good," he said. "It begins the whole cascade of collapse for the Soviet empire." The Freedom Alliance, a charity founded by North, is organizing the weeklong cruise departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 1. Princess Cruises' M.S. Sea Princess is to stop at Grenada along with Aruba, Venezuela, Dominica and St. Thomas. About 80 people have reserved spaces so far, and proceeds will benefit scholarships for children of U.S. servicemen killed in the line of duty, North said. North, a former Marine, was accused of organizing the 1980s scheme to funnel money to right-wing Nicaraguan guerrillas through secret weapons sales to Iran. He was convicted of three felonies, but cleared on appeal. North then made an unsuccessful run for the Senate. He now hosts a radio talk show and a TV program, War Stories, on Fox News Channel. His Dulles, Virginia-based charity has held annual cruises for years, but this is the first on a specific theme, said executive director Tom Kilgannon. The conservative group's Web site promotes the cruise as a "unique commemorate event" to "celebrate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Grenada!" Passengers include Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record) of California, former Attorney General Edwin Meese, and National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, North said. Reagan's eldest son, Michael, also is invited. Kilgannon said North and others will lead seminars on the ship and tour historic sites in Grenada. Grenadian businessman Geoffrey Thompson said he is grateful to the U.S. government for its invasion, and will welcome the visitors: "I think that they will meet a very friendly reception." But Kennedy Roberts, a university instructor, said the visitors may be surprised by the country's growing ties to Cuba. "Ironically, a lot of policies of the revolution are being revived," he said. When the visitors ask who built the new hospital, "we're going to proudly say, 'the Cubans.'" Lawyer Ferron Lowe, Dr. Lowe's husband, said he opposes the cruise just as he did the invasion when he was a junior diplomat. Like the invasion, he noted, "I can't stop it." "When you're a superpower, you're a superpower — you call the shots."
