U.S. invasion of Panama

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Invasion of Panama
Introduction
The United States attacked Panama in the year 1989 in an operation which was known as Operation Just Cause. This operation occurred during the era of President George H Bush, and he ordered the attack due to the country being involved in drug trafficking in America. Moreover, after the invasion the leader of Panama who was known as Manuel Noriega was overthrown from leadership and was replaced by Guillermo Endara. The Panama defense force was also dissolved, and another defense force was created to help in defending the country from other future attacks (Burrell, Millie & Et al, 2177-2193).
Background of the Invasion
Panama was a very important and strategic place for America, and they maintained military bases in the region. However, in 1977 a treaty was signed between the United States and the Leader of Panama whose main purpose was to give Panama full control of it’s Canal. However, although the canal was supposed to be ruled by the Panama government, the United States military remained in the region. The United States also made conditions before the transfer of the canal that required American shipping’s to pass through the canal anytime they wanted.
Moreover, America had a longtime relationship with Noriega who provided intelligent information to the government and various agencies for many years. Noriega had supported the United States in many occasions rather than the USSR such as the revolution in El Salvador by the FMLN group and many other occasions.

Due to this reason, Noriega was awarded an increase of his salary by the American government for him to continue providing support to them. Noriega also worked with organizations that dealt with drug trafficking in America to help capture the drug traffickers. However, Noriega was quite famous of receiving bribes from drug traffickers since he provided various support to them such as helping them in shipping of drugs to America. Noriega also protected the drug dealers from the Drugs Enforcement Agency due to his high positions in the government.
Due to this bad behavior of Noriega, he started having various scandals that cost him and Panama very heavily. In the year 1986, Ronald Reagan requested Noriega to step down as the Panama’s people leader. This situation is because Noriega had been mentioned in various drug scandals by the New York Times and therefore he was required to step down due to his corrupt ways. Ronald Reagan pressed Noriega with several drugs related charged in the United States courts but since extradition laws between the two countries were very weak the charges on Noriega were not successful. Due to this reason Noriega did not step down as the leader of Panama and he continued with his drug-related activities in the region.
In the year 1988, some Pentagon members began pushing for the attack of Panama since Noriega had refused to step down as the leader of the region. However, Ronald Reagan refused due to the previous relationship with Noriega and Bush and also his position in various intelligence agencies in the country. The President also believed that attacking Panama would damage the presidential campaign of Bush who would replace Ronald Reagan as president and therefore the invasion was stopped. However, Noriega was also able to win an attempted coup on his government in March 1988 which was meant to overthrow him from leadership. However, as negotiations between the two countries began to become unsuccessful, Noriega began to seek aid from the Soviet, and he was able to get military help from Cuba and Libya. America, on the other hand, began to prepare itself for the attack of Panama through organizing its military and providing it with necessary equipment required for war.
Elections were held in Panama in May 1989, and Guillermo Endara who was the head of various parties who had come together to end the dictatorship of Noriega was believed to have won the election. However, after this process, Guillermo Endara was brutally beaten by Noriega supporters the following day. Noriega also maintained his power by force by not accepting the election results, and this made him very unpopular in the Panama people. Noriega insisted that he had won the elections and America had been involved in rigging the elections for his opponents to remove him from power (Freestone &Army 136-137).The United States requested Noriega to accept the Panamanians decision, and he did not take the order.
Noriega faced another attempted coup which was led by the Panama Defense Force to try and overthrow him from leadership again. On the other hand, President Bush was being pressured by the media for not invading Panama even under the tough laws that the country had against drug traffickers in the region. Due to this reason, he announced that the country would take strict actions to deal with drug dealers. The Panama government believed that the interference of the United States with the Panama activities would cause a battle between them.
After the general assembly of Panama had declared this action, on the next day four military men belonging to America, were stopped at a roadblock by some members of Panama Defense Force and also some angry civilians. The United Defense wrote a report stating that the military men had no arms and were in a private car on their way to have dinner in some hotel in Panama. They also reported that the Panama military forces had shot them and wounded some of them and also killed one of the military men. The United Stated defense force also reported that some of the witnesses of the incident who were United States residents had been tortured by the Panama police force. Due to these events, then an attack was ordered to ambush Noriega and overthrow him from power. Injustices of the Invasion of Panama
Protection of American Lives in Panama
The assault on Panama was believed to provide protection for the 35000 American citizens living in Panama. This action was taken after the killing of an American soldier in Panama, and therefore the President of America George Bush decided that American citizens were in danger in the region. However, the United States were searching hard for such an occurrence to happen by filling the streets of Panama with American soldiers and therefore provoking them. Moreover, the 35000 citizens of America in Panama served the interest Of Americans in the region and shouldn’t have been residing there. Therefore, it shows that America was just provoking Panama to come to war with them and this act caused a major crisis in the region.
Freeing Panama from Noriega
America also believed that the cause of the attack was to free Panama from the rule of Noriega who was believed to be a drug dealer and also a corrupt person. Noriega was military personnel who had been trained in the United States and also picked to run Panama for the country. Noriega was also chosen to be the leader of Panama by America due to his corrupt ways and ruthlessness and they believed that he would serve America’s interest in Panama. During the leadership of Noriega in Panama, the United States were able to expand its military force in Panama to serve their interests in the region.
Moreover, in the 1980’s Noriega was also able to traffic cocaine through the protection of the Central Intelligence Agency. This trafficking of cocaine was used to finance the war between Contra and Nicaragua which was headed by Noriega. Moreover, during this period Noriega received payment from various United States agencies although he was still a criminal. Therefore, it was completely wrong for the American government to state that they were trying to free Panama from the bad leadership of Noriega. The government had indeed chosen Noriega to impose this bad leadership to the Panama people in order to serve America’s interests.
Also, when Noriega first rigged elections in 1984, the American government praised him for winning the election and did not criticize him in any way. However, when Noriega rigged the elections again in the year 1989, the American government decided to overthrow Noriega stating that they wanted to bring back democracy in Panama which was a lie. The main aim of America was to serve their personal interest in Panama, and that’s why they overthrew Noriega since he was not useful to them anymore.
He was later arrested and transferred to America where he would face various charges in the American courts. The United States also chose another leader who would serve their interests and was known as Guillermo Endara. The new president of Panama was also a corrupt leader and was also involved in various illegal activities such as drug trafficking and laundering of drug money. Moreover, none of the elected leaders in Panama was elected to serve the Panama people, but they were all required to serve the American’s interests especially in the Panama Canal.
Stopping Brutality in Panama
The attack on Panama was just meant to serve the interests of America and not to save the Panamanians from brutality. The government attacked Panama citizens by using their firepower which led to the death of many citizens of Panama in the region. Over two thousand Panama people were killed during the attack and many cities were burnt to the ground by the American government during the attack. Bodies of the people killed in Panama were burnt down by the American soldiers, and others were buried in mass graves. These actions show that the American government was not interested in stopping brutality on the people of Panama. The attack was only conducted to serve the interests of the American government, and also the American government treated the people of Panama more brutally during the invasion. This invasion was due to Noriega not serving the interests of the Americans in the region, and thus it led to the brutal murder of the people of Panama.
The main cause of the Panama attack by the American government was the strategic location of Panama which would allow America carry out most of its operation around the world. The strategic position of Panama would allow the United States military force to move easily around the world. Panama would also enable America to easily access various countries such as Asia which would enable easy trading between the two areas. The American government had acquired Panama from Colombia in the year 1903 and had colonized the Panama Canal by setting up military bases in the region. Setting up of the Military base was to ensure that no other country including Panama would try to oppose their rule in the region. However, in the 1970’s after America was defeated in the war in Vietnam the nation decided to hand over the Canal of Panama to the Panama government. Noriega was elected as the leader of Panama, but he proved not to be a good leader, and this led to the attack of Panama.
Due to this reasons that the American government came up with reasons for waging war to the Panama government such as protecting the American citizens in Panama and removing Noriega from power, the American government decided to break the treaty between them and the Panama people. The American military forces started various activities that were against the treaty such as not ignoring the roadblocks set up by the Panama army. The main reason why the American army was taking such decision was to provoke the Panama army into a war with them. The United States Army, on the other hand, kept a record of any abuses that their military men had received from the Panama military men to lure them into a war which they would blame them for starting it. Noriega believed that America had started a war against Panama due to the ruthless economic sanctions that America had in Panama. The provocative operations of the American military men also made Noriega believe that the United States was trying to start a war between them.
Invasion
The American government decided to start sending its military members to Panama in December 1989. Large numbers of the United States troops were sent into the region to attack and overthrow Noriega who was the leader of Panama. More military aircraft were also sent to the region to enable America to attack Panama on air. The attack began with the capture of various Panama military bases such as the one which was located in Rio Hato where Noriega also lived. The US troops also attacked a civilian airport which was located in Panama City and this was the beginning of the invasion in the region. The American troops in Panama destroyed Noriega’s private jet and also a gunboat belonging to the Panama army.
On the other hand, an attack led by the Panama military men led to the death of four American military men and also injured other nine more. The Panama military men also conducted an invasion on other American military bases in the region in response to the attack that had happened in their garrison. Moreover, the military decided to attack one of the major headquarters of the Panama military which in Elchorillo in the Downtown city of Panama. The military men opened fire which burnt down the heavily populated region and contributed to many deaths of the residents of the region. During the attack, the Panama military men were also able to bring down two helicopters owned by the American military men which were forced to crash on the Panama Canal. Another special operation was conducted in one of the prisons in Panama City whose main aim was to free a United States citizen who had been convicted by Noriega (Hixon, Mark & Et al 161-165).
Fort Amador was also secured by the American troops through an air attack which occurred during the night at during the early hours of December 20th. The region was a very important location due to its large oil plant located in the region, the American bridge which helped passing over the canal, and also the Pacific entrance which the Americans used to enter the Panama Canal was also located in the region. Moreover, the region also had a large number of United States citizens and therefore it had to be secured to stop the Panama forces from holding them hostage. Later, after the attack, Guillermo Endara was announced as the new president of Panama and was also sworn in on the same day. Guillermo Endara was believed to have won the elections that had been rigged earlier by Noriega (Coughlin, n.p).
Consequences of the Invasion
The capture of Noriega was one of the outcomes of the invasion. The American military troops began by destroying Noriega’s private jet and boat to prevent him from escaping from Panama. During this operation, four people were killed, and nine more were injured to prevent Noriega from escaping. Military operations continued in Panama where the United States troops engaged with the Panama military men, and this went on for several weeks. A reward of one million US dollars was also placed for anyone who would help capture Noriega for the several days he had tried to escape. Noriega was able to hide for a few days at the Vatican diplomatic mission in Panama (Burrell, Millie 2177-2193). However, the American government put more pressure on the arrest of Noriega, and he later surrendered himself to the American military. Noriega was later flown to the United States where he faced various charges such as murder and drug trafficking.
Another consequence of the invasion is that it caused a lot of casualties during the attack and also the death of many people in the region. A lot of Panama residents lost their lives, where the United Nations believed that over a thousand residents of Panama were killed during the attack. Also, many American soldiers lost their lives during the attack. The United States military reported that twenty-three soldiers had lost their lives and nineteen of them had been critically injured during the attack. Over two hundred Panama soldiers also lost their lives during the attack and this proved to be one of the deadliest invasions ever to occur in Panama. Also, some of the civilians who lost their lives during the attack was an American school teacher who taught in Panama and also a Spanish journalist who had been sent to Panama. Moreover, commissions which dealt with human rights in Panama believed that over three thousand people had lost their lives during the assault in Panama.
Another consequence of the attack was the swearing in of Guillermo Endara as the new president of Panama. Guillermo Endara was immediately sworn in as the President of Panama after the attack was successful. The new president of Panama later led a hunger strike which was meant to call upon other nations to help Panama conquer poverty and rebuild the country. This situation was due to the destructions that had been caused by the attack by the United States government attack on Panama and also the harsh rule of Noriega.
Another consequence of the invasion of Panama by the United States military troops is that it left many people homeless and others became refugees. However due to this reason the United States government decided to compensate the individuals who had lost their homes due to the war. The American government offered individuals who had lost their home an amount of 6500 dollars to buy new homes or buy a new apartment. However, various difficulties were endured during the construction of the new homes by the people of Panama.
Another consequence of the attack is that it led to some of the companies in the country to file charges against America for the damage caused. The companies filed charges based on the facts that the attack on Panama by America was brutal and it destroyed a lot of people’s property in the country and therefore the United States was supposed to pay for their actions. The companies also argued that the property that was destroyed during the attack was not covered by the insurance company. The reason behind this is that some of the insurance companies in Panama had gone bankrupt and therefore they had no ability to cover the losses. Moreover, other insurance companies were not willing to cover for the loss and therefore the United States was supposed to cover for the damages caused in the country.
The attack in Panama was also believed to have caused huge damage to infrastructure and various property in the region. The attack caused a damage of about two billion dollars in the region which shows that it caused major losses to the people of Panama. In the city of Panama, over a thousand businesses were destroyed leaving their owners with nothing behind rather than asking for help from foreign countries. In the second largest city of Panama known as Colon, more businesses were destroyed, which resulted in about thirty million dollars loss in the city. Moreover, the free trading zone of Colon lost more than seventy million dollars’ worth of property during the attack (Markow & Therese 2427-2434).
The attack on Panama by the United States also caused major damage to the economy of the region which was already in crisis due to the sanctions imposed on them by the United States. The Gross Domestic Product declined heavily after the attack due to the damages caused in the country. The unemployment level in the country also increased steadily due to the destructions of various businesses in the country and therefore living the citizens of Panama with nothing to do. The level of poverty also increased making over fifty percent of the citizen of Panama very poor until a hunger strike was called upon by the elected President Guillermo Endara.
Another consequence of the invasion is that the newly elected president Guillermo Endara created the first anniversary which was used to remember the United States invasion. The anniversary was indeed to remember a large number of people who lost their lives during the attack on Panama by the United States. During this day Panama citizens marched through the streets wearing black clothes to condemn the attack by Americans. The Panama citizens also marched through the streets to criticize the poor economic policies imposed to them by their new leader Guillermo Endara.
Another consequence of the attack is that it led to the exercise of democracy in the country since the overthrowing of Noriega. Since the overthrowing of Noriega, Panama has had various presidential elections where candidates from opposition parties have been elected. Rigging of elections and dictatorship such as that of Noriega have declined drastically in the country. Although these democratic rights in Panama have been exercised, Panamanian press has faced a large number of restrictions in reporting various information in the country.
The attack also led to the abolition of the military in Panama which was used to fight the Americans during the battle. The newly elected president created a new security team which was used to maintain law and order in the country. However, the military of Panama was completely abolished through a constitutional amendment in the year 1994. This situation was because the military was found to be corrupt as its former leader Noriega and therefore it had to be abolished.
How did the Invasion Impact Foreign Policy, Americans, and Panamanians
One of the impacts on foreign policy caused by the invasion of Panama by the United States is that it didn’t affect the relationship between America and other Latin nations. The relationship between the countries and America are still the same as they were before the assault of Panama. The Latin nations were not happy about America not respecting the policy of non-intervention of other Latin countries. However, they believed that diplomatic actions by the United States to try and convince Noriega to step down had failed and therefore they had no other choice. The Latin nations also considered the attack on Panama a special case due to the control that America had in the Panama Canal. The Latin nations also believed that Noriega had to be removed from power due to his corrupt ways and drug trafficking issues.
The Latin American nations also were not very concerned with the attack of Panama by America being a sovereign country. This situation is because they knew that America had become very strict with drug dealers such as Noriega. For this reason, they believed that America had all the rights to attack Panama to stop the shipping of drugs into the country. Also, the nations were not willing to destroy their relationship with America which allowed for immigration and trading activities between them. Therefore these nations had no other choices but to support America in their actions of invading Panama to maintain these relations.
Moreover, the representatives of the Latin American nations believed that the consequences of the invasion would be more useful rather than the invasion itself. The reason behind this is that they believed that Panama would have a stable economic and political status after the overthrowing of Noriega. Noriega was believed to be a dictator, and he had destroyed the economy of Panama through corruption and drug trafficking. Also, the creation of democracy in Panama would also help other Latin nations in America to head towards democracy too. For this reason, the Latin nations decided to support America in the assault towards Panama.
The invasion of Panama was also criticized by other foreign countries since it had violated some of the United Nations policies which do not allow used of armed forces in a certain nation territory. Other nations also believed that the actions of Noriega were not worse enough to be dealt with using an armed attack. The Latin nations criticized the invasion, and they voted for the exit of the United States troop from the region. The United Nations also voted for the withdrawal of the soldiers from Panama and they regarded to the attack of Panama as a breach of International law.
However, some of the reports and researches were undertaken by the United States research agencies showed that a large number of people in Panama supported the intervention by America. The research showed that a large percentage of Panama adults supported the invasion although it was condemned by major International bodies in the world. However, the findings were disputed since they were undertaken in the rich residents of Panama City who would support the United States actions. Moreover, the findings were also found to be biased since they were funded by President Bush who had ordered the attack. A large number of American citizens also approved the attack to stop drug trafficking to their country.
How expensive was the Invasion
The attack was a very expensive mission which cost the country a lot of money. This situation is because of the expensive war equipment that was required to attack Panama and also the payment of the soldiers. The amount of money that was used to overthrow Noriega from power amounted to 163 US Dollars. The total amount that the country spent on the operation exceeded the expenses that the country spent on the attack of Grenada. 155 US Dollars were spent on the army that was used to attack the Panama defense force in the land. Another 5.7 US Dollars was used to pay the air force who helped attack Panama on air. Moreover, an amount of 2.9 US Dollars was used to pay the Navy who helped attack the Panama military men through the water bodies (Hixon & Mark 161-165).
Invasion of Iraq
Another invasion such as the one that occurred in Panama was the invasion of Iraq by the United States government. The war occurred in the year 2003 when America and other allies decided to attack Iraq since they suspected that they possessed weapons of mass destruction. The invasion took a period of about twenty-one days where various troops from the United States, Poland, United Kingdom and Australia were deployed in the country. This attack conducted by these troops was able to overthrow Saddam Hussein government in Iraq, and they were also able to capture the capital city of Iraq which was Baghdad. The country had just invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from leadership as it had invaded Panama to remove Noriega from power.
Iraq was seen as a sponsor of terrorist activities in the world and therefore this reason led to the attack. Various attacks that occurred in various parts of the country such as New York were believed to have been executed by the Al Qaeda. Saddam Hussein was also believed to be supporting this terror group and therefore America had to carry out an attack in Iraq. This situation was because George Bush waged war on the terror groups and any other country which was involved in terrorist activities in the world. Saddam Hussein was believed to have supported the terrorist group by providing war equipment and also providing a training ground to the Al Qaeda. This reason led to the attack on Iraq by the United States. However, there have been some claims that Saddam Hussein wasn’t an ally of the Al Qaeda and he did not offer any assistant to the terrorist group.
Another reason for the attack on Iraq by the United States is that it was believed to possess weapons of mass destruction. This act was after the 9/11 terror attack in the United States that led to America believing that the terrorist groups were willing to acquire any weapons which would lead to mass destruction. The terrorist groups did not also follow the rules of war accepted by most nations in the world, and this led to the attack on Iraq since it was believed to support this terrorist groups. Moreover, Iraq was much famous in the use of chemical weapons to attack its enemies, and this led to the inspection of Iraq by the United Nations. Iraq had used such weapons in its war with Iran, and it was also suspected of building nuclear weapons which would be used to attack Israel. Due to this reason, America decided to invade Iraq to destroy all these weapons before they caused major damage to other parts of the world.
However, after the attack, no major weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq (Coughlin Con, n.p). The United States still believed that Saddam Hussein still possessed the weapons and was creating them in secret locations. This situation was caused by Saddam Hussein refusing to cooperate with the United Nations on inspections of their weapons. The government of America believed that better safe than sorry as the reason why the country decided to attack Iraq. However, most people viewed the major reason as to why the American government waged war against Iraq was due to oil. Iraq is very rich in oil and therefore the United States wanted to exploit it through waging war against them.
Another reason why America invaded Iraq was to make it a democratic nation just as it had invaded Panama to remove Noriega from leadership who was believed to be a dictator. Saddam Hussein was also believed to be a dictator and therefore the United States was willing to overthrow him from power. The United States believed that allowing democracy in a certain country would help eradicate poverty and enable children of various countries to acquire education. In Iraq, it was very hard for children to acquire education especially the girl child but this was possible after the attack.
Consequences of the attack
The attack on Iraq by the United States government was a very bad decision such as the one they had taken on invading Panama in 1989. Rather than the war leading to a state of democracy in Iraq, it led to the collapse of the nation after the war. The attack also contributed to the destruction of Iraq civil society and therefore showing that the attack was not necessary at all. Major allies of America also did not support the attack on Iraq such as France since they believed that it would cause major damages to the country. Also, American citizens did not support the attack since there wasn’t any prove that Iraq had any dangerous weapons.
The invasion led to the massacre of a huge number of people in the country especially when the United States military men entered Baghdad. Many people were killed during the first day of the invasion of Iraq than others who were killed during the next days of the operation. The entry of the United States forces in Baghdad also led to looting in the city; various businesses were set to fire and also many people lost their lives during the event. The cultural and historical heritage of the Iraq people was also heavily damaged due to the looting of the Iraq museum that was found in Baghdad. Also, there was the decision which was made to abolish the Iraq military force by the United States government (Masiol &Mauro, 31-37). This decision left a lot of people in Iraq with no jobs thus increasing the level of poverty in the region. Indeed, more than a hundred thousand people lost their lives during the invasion, and this was a huge number of deaths in the country. The level of unemployment also increased in the country and also the infrastructure in Iraq was highly damaged. Iraq lacked electricity, health care was not also available and also education.
The attack also led to the displacement of a large number of people from Iraq. Most citizens of the country ran to other peaceful countries neighboring Iraq to seek refuge from them. The war was found to have displaced over 4million citizens of Iraq who became refugees in the bordering countries of Iraq. Indeed this was a very bad outcome which could not have happened if the attack had not occurred. America also decided to open the country to foreign investors to help it rebuild itself. Other major international organizations were also involved in helping in the reconstruction of the country. Food and health supplies were shipped into the country by the organizations to help feed and treat the people affected by the war. The war also highly affected the soldiers who were involved in the war. Many of the soldiers lost their lives during the war while others were left crippled and not able to work again. The war also caused various illnesses to the soldiers such as depression and stress and anxiety disorders. These actions prove that the war heavily affected the people of Afghanistan and caused major damages in the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both attacks on Panama and Iraq by the United States were a very bad decision which caused major damages in both countries. Many people lost their lives, and the countries were left devastated for a large period. The United Nations should condemn such actions not to be taken by the United States again rather they should try and use diplomatic ways. The invasions of both Panama and Iraq led to high level of unemployment and also a decline in the Gross Domestic Product of both countries. Moreover, the invasion waged by the United States was more based on serving their interests rather than helping those countries.
Works Cited
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