Panama: the forgotten Bush invasion

[Sushi_lover]

I've been reading about George H.W. Bush’s invasion of Panama and capture of dictator Manuel Noriega. There are parallels with Iraq.

We gave Noriega mixed messages. He was on the CIA payroll until 1987 and we supported his abusive dictatorship because we were fighting a drug war and a cold war.

We demanded he step down and we weakened his country with economic sanctions, but that only strengthened his hold.

We conducted nearby military operations. He assumed we were bluffing.

We failed to support a coup attempt where Noriega had been captured but Colin Powell (Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff) failed to use U.S. military to prevent Noriega’s army from rescuing him. After the coup attempt was crushed, its leaders were tortured and killed.

Finally George H.W. Bush invaded in 1989 to counter growing public sentiment about his “wimp factor” problem. A military action designed to enhance Bush’s image as president.

But we were successful with the nation-building in Panama. Why?

Because we withdrew quickly after Noriega’s surrender. Also because we allowed the country to stay in the hands of the military until new elections. In Iraq, we do not trust the democratic process because it is likely to produce an unpalatable Islamic regime.

More details:
A military summary of the invasion: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/just_cause.htm
A political analysis of the invasion with comparisons to our lead-up in Iraq: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/gilboa.htm