| This thesis surveys the development of the Cold War U.S. national security policy in the Commonwealth Caribbean, beginning with Jamaica's independence in 1962 through the 1983 American invasion of Grenada. The paper examines three areas deemed important to this security policy: communism, migration, and economics. The U.S. believed that the prevention of communism in the West Indies was the goal of this security policy, while the West Indies wanted solutions and aid for regional economic problems. Instead of creating a bilateral security policy to aid both sides, the U.S. dictated and controlled the policy to reflect its security needs, calling on the West Indies to help when needed to protect these needs. West Indian security concerns were neglected for the sake of American security. As a result, problematic areas of migration and economics became worse for in the decades to follow. |
