U.S. Forces Invade Panama, Oust Noriega Regime
Yes, Manuel Noriega is a smarmy drug dealer. So was George Bush in the smarmy Iran-Contra affair. Yes, Noriega is ruthless, corrupt and treacherous. He’s a boy scout compared to the monstrous, priest-killing regime in El Salvador, and Bush considers them worthy of being lavishly supported with our taxes.
Yes, there was the incident where Noriega may have said he was at “war” with the U.S. and an American soldier was murdered. News accounts have reported that invasion preparations were well under way before these incidents took place. The real reason we invaded Panama is that with the collapse of the international communist threat there are those in our government who are desperately trying to present some justification for maintaining an overblown military budget.
I say this operation, with the needless loss of American and Panamanian lives, is all the more reason to curtail it.
GREG FRY
Culver City
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