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In Washington, before leaving for the Far East, Ronald Reagan solidified the broad popular support for his decision to invade Grenada. He basked in the virtually unanimous praise of American students from St. George's University School of Medicine, whose perceived peril on Grenada had been one of the President's rationales for what he called the "rescue mission." Addressing about 300 of the returned students, whom he had invited to the White House, along with some of the troops who had helped them get off the chaotic island, Reagan criticized those who "belittled the danger that you were in." The President added: "It is very easy for some know-it-all in a plush protected quarter to say that you were hi no danger. I have wondered how many of them would have changed places with you." The students' cheers rolled across the South Lawn.
In another effort to shore up support for the invasion, the Administration placed captured Cuban weapons on display in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. The most formidable were two Soviet-built BTR-60 armored personnel carriers. Twelve of them had been spirited at night into Grenada 18 months ago by the Cubans, after electric power had been cut and roadblocks installed to conceal the unloading. Also on display were twelve ZU-23 antiaircraft guns, 291 submachine guns, 6,330 rifles and 5.6 million rounds of ammunition. The Pentagon termed the arms cache sufficient to equip two Cuban battalions (about 500 men each) for up to 45 days of combat.
A congressional study group concluded, after a three-day trip to Grenada, that Reagan's move had been justified. The 14 members of Congress, headed by Democrat Thomas Foley of Washington State, reported to House Speaker Tip O'Neill that most of them felt that the students had been possible targets for a Tehran-type taking of hostages. This caused O'Neill, who had denounced Reagan's decision, to reverse himself. Noting that "a potentially life-threatening situation existed on the island," the Speaker said that the invasion "was justified under these particular circumstances."
There were a few dissenters among the congressional fact finders. "Not a single American child nor single American national was in any way placed in danger or placed in a hostage situation prior to the invasion," insisted Ohio Democrat Louis Stokes. The Congressional Black Caucus denounced the intervention. Seven other Democratic Congressmen, led by Ted Weiss of New York, introduced a quixotic resolution to impeach Reagan for sending in the troops, which would, of course, go exactly nowhere. Just outside the White House on Saturday, a youngish crowd of at least 20,000 gathered to demonstrate their displeasure with the Grenada adventure and with U.S. military involvement in Central America.