In this chapter, it becomes clear to John that he must write this book. After hearing of Manuel Noriega's fate. Once again America invaded another small country. This issue was over the Panama Canal. Carter and Torrijos had formed an agreement that was favorable to both sides. Reagan ripped the deal up. Once Omar Torrijos was killed, Noriega tried to carry on Torrijos's legacy. He of course fell short. He did try and get the Panama Canal agreement honored. Silly goose, DC was not going to do that. Once Noriega stated that Panama did not only plan to leave the Schools of America plan, but Panama was also prepared to hire a Japanese firm to work on the Canal. That was the final line.
First came the slandering of Noriega and then the illegal invasion. Bombs rained down on the citizens of Panama like a tropical storm. The main message was He had become a brutal dictator with a serious drug habit. Then the invasion. The Red Cross and Media weren't allowed in for three days. The Red Cross provided medical care, yet they couldn't do their jobs. When questioned about events in Panama, the answers were vague at best. To this day we still don't know how many were murdered. The evidence of war crimes got destroyed. In other words, just another day at the office. Noriega served time as a political prisoner. The oligarch family which Torrijos replaced was reinstated. DC had their puppet government again. They tolerated the Panamanian citizens having their government representing them as long as DC could or would tolerate.
As time went by it became clear to John it was time to get back to his book. The next chapter is in Iraq, round one.
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