‘It’s Been Worth It’: Bush : He Vows to Press Hunt for Noriega

President Bush said today that his massive two-day military operation had created a stable environment for democratic government in Panama and said, “Yes, it’s been worth” the loss of American lives in combat. He vowed to press ahead with the search for ousted leader Manuel Antonio Noriega.

The American military mission “is not over, but pretty well wrapped up,” the President told reporters. He would not say, however, when he expected a withdrawal of the nearly 10,000 troops airlifted into Panama. He said the commitment to capture Noriega was “open ended.”

Of Noriega, Bush said: “The good news is he’s out of power. The bad news is he’s not yet been brought to justice.”

Bush spoke at a White House news conference at the same time a military aircraft was arriving in the United States bearing the bodies of the first Americans killed in combat. The Pentagon said 19 troops had been killed.

“Particularly at this time of year,” Bush said with his wife, Barbara, looking on, “my heart goes out to the families” of the casualties.

Rep. Les. Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the presence of U.S. soldiers may be required for an indefinite period if the Panamanian Defense Forces are unable to perform normal police functions and defend the new government.

“I think the chances are that there is going to be a need for them to be there,” Aspin said, adding that police and public safety operations in Panama appeared to have broken down.

Bush said that he wants the American forces who were airlifted into Panama Tuesday night to return to the United States as soon as possible but that “no number of days estimate was given to me” by Pentagon planners.

Bush spoke after Defense Secretary Dick Cheney raised the prospect that some of the troops could be withdrawn before Christmas Day, but White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater cautioned that many troops could remain for some time.

Bush was asked, given the death toll from the operation and the fact Noriega was still at large, whether the mission was worth it. He responded that he had been advised there was “no way to do an operation this large and not have casualties. And yet I have to answer yes, it’s been worth it.”

He said Guillermo Endara, the U.S.-backed president sworn in before the troops landed Tuesday night, had “taken charge” and was “starting to govern the country.”

Bush said, “This operation is not over, but it’s pretty well wrapped up. We’ve moved aggressively to neutralize the PDF (Panamanian Defense Forces) to provide a stable environment for the freely elected Endara government.”

Asked about the $1-million reward the United States was offering for information leading to Noriega’s capture, Bush scathingly referred to the Panamanian as a “fugitive drug dealer” and said his “picture will be in every Post Office in town.

“That’s a million bucks I’d be very happy to sign a check for,” he said.

Bush’s comments were his first in public since his somber sunrise speech on Wednesday setting out the reasons behind the military operation.