Panama,+1989

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U.S. Invasion of Panama- December 20th, 1989 to May 7th, 1989 By John M. and Arat I.
 * [[image:http://www.google.com/maps/vt/data=Ay5GWBeob_WIPLDYoIWcfVXxvZu9XwJ55OX7Ag,wnpewcbvOV81pJ3wtwrc2RqEh7A4Gf6lrOY3eE8c_eloSUZZVymOAKG-u8L-2uaLkmEXmEsbMaCh2vjEKAcsmvijK86LyIYx-mY72p3fERuXfLsqamYl-HW8ea_QYXsH3tS9YjXUrecL2ygQyIact6jAYp2Ao6EVeXuOgITwildP8ry6 width="270" height="185" caption="Panama"]]
 * [[image:http://www.google.com/maps/vt/data=Ay5GWBeob_WIPLDYoIWcfVXxvZu9XwJ55OX7Ag,wnpewcbvOV81pJ3wtwrc2RqEh7A4Gf6lrOY3eE8c_eloSUZZVymOAKG-u8L-2uaLkmEXmEsbMaCh2vjEKAcsmvijK86LyIYx-mY72p3fERuXfLsqamYl-HW8ea_QYXsH3tS9YjXUrecL2ygQyIact6jAYp2Ao6EVeXuOgITwildP8ry6 width="270" height="185" caption="Panama"]]

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Tasks I- Nature and Scope of Conflict... The Panama invasion by the U.S. armed forces happened on December 20, 1989, and ended on May 7, 1989 (Gale Virtual Reference Library). The U.S. invaded Panama to overthrow Manuel Noriega- the leader of Panama to stop the Panamanian involvement in drug trafficking as well as threats to American interests in the region. This would describe the type of small war it would be- punitive, protective and pacification. The United States wanted influence over Panama mostly because of the Panama Canal, a major economic, military, and geo-strategic asset. It all ended when Noriega overturned the results of a national election on May 7, 1989, and strengthened his personal hold on power in Panama.( ABC-CLIO) This eventually led to the Panamanians to increase harassment of U.S. military personnel and other foreign citizens.

__Works Cited__ . ||
 * < "Panama Invasion." //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

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 * < "U.S. Invasion of Panama: Cold War." //ABC CLIO//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Task II- US Involvement in Conflict... This small war could be identified as punitive, although in this case the U.S. is attempting to prevent any attacks on them by the Panamanians, protective, to protect the U.S. of being attacked, and pacification, to get rid of any delays they may cause n their interest over the region. President George H. W. Bush was an obvious important decision maker for the U.S and his advisers as well, who help decide a military to proceed with a full-scale operation whose objective was of to, "protect U.S. citizens living in Panama, secure the Panama Canal and U.S. military installations, help the Panamanian people restore democracy, and arrest Noriega and bring him to the United States for trial," (ABC CLIO). The reason for this operation was because the violence against U.S. citizens grew, and then Panamanian security forces murdered a U.S. Marine and abused a navy officer and his wife(American Military and Naval History and Wars of the World).

To participate in small wars of this nature for the U.S., there had to be precedent: and there was. The justification for operation Just Cause was that the Panamanian president, Noriega, was suspected for drug trafficking and it had potential to take away American interests in Panama. An article from ABC-Clio states that,"Noriega had established ties to the U.S. military and the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA), he was also connected to Cuban leader Fidel Castro,"(ABC-Clio). The U.S. had plenty of reasons for starting a small war in Panama and the were all justifiable.

The presidential that best fits the aim or goals of this small war is the Kennedy Doctrine. In his doctrine, J.F.K., "[lets] every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price... to assure the survival and the success of liberty," (Kennedy Doctrine). This fits operation "Just Cause" best because it say that we will intervene in with any country to make sure they are on the right track and that is exactly what happened. The Panamanian president was involved in drug trafficking so we got him out A.S.A.P. and used the principles of the Kennedy Doctrine to do so.

__Works Cited__ . ||
 * "U.S. Invasion of Panama: Cold War." //ABC CLIO//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

1989)." //American Military and Naval History//. DevHub, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . ||
 * American Military and Naval History. "U.S. Invasion of Panama, (20 December

Dec. 2000. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . ||
 * Wars Of The World. "US Invasion of Panama 1989." //Wars Of The World//. N.p., 16

TASK III: US Public View On Conflict... The entire issue with Panama was very controversial in America.The US imposed strict sanctions that resulted in the loss of hundreds of Panamanian lives and damage to Panama City and El Chorillo (Military.com). In result of the invasion, civilian communities were hurt, "Panamanians estimate that between 2,000 and 6,000 people were killed in this invasion... This invasion was obviously NOT done to protect Panama's people!" (Protecting Panamanians?- Revcom.us). They served the U.S. economic, military, and political domination of Panama. And what did it mean to, "protect" their safety? It could only mean tightening that domination," (Protecting Americans?- Revcom.us). In this case, at least with this source, the opinion is that the U.S. was doing it out of lies and shame.

Panama's public opinion was very influential to operation Just Cause and in some ways slowed down the invasion and overthrow or Noriega (Panamanian president). Jerome V. Martin from ABC-Clio writes that, "a Panamanian coup [(or overthrow)] attempt on October 3, 1989, led Noriega to purge the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF), further solidifying his control," (Martin, ABC-Clio). With Noriega's power increasing, the U.S. invasion had to be taken one step backward to reevaluate because, "Panamanian police and security forces increased their harassment of U.S. military personnel and other foreign citizens," (Martin, ABC-Clio). The public opinion's importance had a strong effect during the way and changed the outcome of the war by postponing the halt of Noriega's reign.

__Works Cited__ . ||
 * Revcom.us. //Revcom.us//. Revcom.com, 9 Oct. 2005. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

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 * Military.com. //Military.com//. Military Advantage, 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.


 * Martin, Jerome V. "U.S. Invasion of Panama: Cold War." //World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society //. ABC-CLIO,2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. ||

Task IV: Did the U.S. achieve its goals? The conflict ended when the Panamanian president surrendered on January 30, 1990. According to Jerome V. Martin from ABC-Clio, president Noriega was, "flown to the United States, where he would stand trial and be convicted on drug trafficking charges," (Martin). In May 1989 there was an election held but Noriega vanquished the results so hoe could stay in power. The victory was a large success because the U.S. took Noriega out and replaced him with, "those government officials who had been elected in May 1989," (Martin). With new people in charge, Panama was back to normal and we do not have to worry about the president being involved in drug trafficking for the foreseeable future. It was very touchy discussing how it the U.S. was left to it's public because there are two sides to the subject but overall the negative very much stands out as said in Task 3. It was seen unfair that the U.S. had hurt so many Panamanians; "297 Panamanian deaths, 123 wounded, and 468 captured," (ABC-CLIO) all for the Panama canal which was an extremely crucial, a strategic importance, "-- its capitalist penetration of Latin America and Asia, and its ability to shift its military forces aggressively around the world." (revcom.us) This gave a very bad view on military leaders, the president, and in all represented the U.S. hold of Panama and Latin America as a total, just like what happened when the Soviet Union collapsed, "labeling" the U.S. as a superpower, flowing the Gulf War that same year in August.

__Works Cited__ . ||
 * "U.S. Invasion of Panama: Cold War." //ABC CLIO//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Martin, Jerome V. "U.S. Invasion of Panama: Cold War." //World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society //. ABC-CLIO,2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

<http://revcom.us/a/017/us-invasion-panama.htm>. ||
 * Revcom.us. //Revcom.us//. Revcom.com, 9 Oct. 2005. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

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