U.S. - Panama Relations in the 1990's: Developing a Post-Noriega Strategy

The United States 20 December 1989 invasion of Panama marks a milestone in U.S.-Panama relations. The success of future U.S. policy toward Panama, however, will depend largely on our ability to break with our traditional ad hoc approach. Implementation of the Panama Canal treaties now requires the United States to come up with a ten-year plan on how to further its interests in a post-Noriega -- and post-2000 -- Panama. The time is fast approaching when we will no longer be able to depend on Just Causes to correct systemic policy flaws. We cannot develop a long-term strategy based on our interpretation of the Noriega-U.S. conflict, however. U.S.-Panama dynamics are much more complex and deeply rooted in history. We must therefore broaden both our knowledge and perspective on Panama and identify the factors -- past and present -- that will influence our future relationship. Until we do this, we will continue to wing our Panama policy and risk repeating the mistakes of the past. kt