“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” -George Orwell (1903-1950)
President-elect Trump is threatening to reclaim control of the Panamanian Canal. Trump is not the first to entertain such a notion. To understand better his threat, one must look at a bit of history such as is found in the novel, Inescapable Consequences (2009). Yes, Hegel made clear the typical futility of doing so, but it is still worth the effort.
“The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” -Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
Visit Panama today, and you will find among the populace a love-hate relationship with us Norteamericanos. In 1903 the Progressive President “Teddy” Roosevelt instigated the separation of the isthmus from its maternal country, Colombia, establishing a separate nation called Panama, so that we could succeed where the French failed in building a canal. (Our deposing the legitimate Moscow-oriented government in Ukraine reflects a long, American tradition of such antics.)
Colonialism? Maybe so, but the presence of American troops in the isthmus vastly improved the health and well-being of the populace; e.g., ridding the region of Dengue Fever, which returned with the withdrawal of the American military from the Canal Zone. Under the administration of the moralistic moron, President “Jimmy” Carter, we returned the Canal to the incompetent Panamanians, who contracted with the Communistic Chinese to manage the ports at either end.
Direct American Invasion
Excerpt from the novel, Retribution Fever:
Why did the United States of America invade tiny Panama in 1989 and kidnap its leading citizen? American authorities claimed that the reasons were to return Panama to democracy and to stop its leader from trafficking in narcotics. Some well-placed Panamanians claim the reason was economic.
In 1983, General Manuel Noriega assumed control of the Panamanian Defense Forces and essentially of Panama. General Noriega reportedly had been on the payroll of the United States Army (1955-1986) and an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency since 1959. President Reagan even had praised him publicly.
By 1987, however, relations between Panama and the United States had deteriorated with General Noriega having established relations with communistic Cuba. In 1988, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted the General on drug-related charges.
During the years previous, Panama had established itself as a significant, international, financial center. The increasingly strained American-Panamanian relations finally led to a massive withdrawal of funds from Panamanian-located banks, the consequence of which was a closing of the banks in March 1988. Also, about the same time, the government of the United States froze all Panamanian funds. Sound familiar?
Then, in 1989, the United States violated its treaty with Panama by dispatching additional troops there and by staging provocative, military exercises in prohibited zones. In addition, the United States barred all Panamanian-registered vessels from American ports. (Many shipping companies around the world register their vessels in Panama, generating substantial revenue for the country.)
On 20 December 1989, the United States installed a new President of Panama in a secret ceremony held at a military installation in the Canal Zone. President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama, naming it “Operation Just Cause”. American forces bombed parts of Panama City and killed as many as four thousand Panamanians. Two years later, the country still had not recovered.
Sceptics have asked, “Why did the United States really invade Panama and kidnap its elected leader?” Was it because General Noriega really had been an agent of Cuba, as alleged? Was it because General Noriega had been promoting the selling of narcotics illegal in the United States, as charged?
Some well-placed Panamanians claim that the real reason never has been revealed. The real reason, they claim, was to destroy Panama as a financial center, which did occur, and to promote the transfer of millions of dollars from Panama City to Miami, which they allege also did occur.
The United States arrested General Noriega in Panama, where he had sought asylum at the embassy of the Vatican. The Americans forced his surrender by playing music at a deafening volume incessantly. Having apprehended him, American authorities then transferred the General from Panama to the United States, where an American court convicted him and where he resides in an American prison.
Monroe Doctrine
In the overall scheme of American, foreign policy in the Occidental Hemisphere, the Monroe Doctrine represents a vital element as described hereinbelow:
Excerpt from the novel, Retribution Fever:
In 1823, President James Monroe (1758-1831) had announced to Congress a new doctrine pertaining to the Americas. In 1850, his doctrine became known as the “Monroe Doctrine”. It became a cornerstone of American foreign policy thereafter until 2013 when the administration of Barack Hussein Obama II announced that it was “dead”.
Essentially, the Monroe Doctrine had declared off-limits military adventurism of any kind in the New World by foreign powers of the Old. Initially opposed by many European powers of the time, the British viewed it to their advantage, sponsoring and supporting it while the Royal Navy defended it.
With its later disavowal by Obama, Latin America had become fertile ground for the establishment of military presences by European and Asiatic enemies of this nation. Obama’s disavowal represented the opposite of the position that we, the members of the TMG, believe this nation should have been taking — namely, strengthening American commitment to the Monroe Doctrine that had served the nation so well over so many decades.
Biobehavioral Science says, “The time to break a chain of undesirable behaviors is at the beginning.”
We Americans had failed to do so. In fact, we succeeded in doing the opposite.
We Americans had failed to do so. In fact, we succeeded in doing the opposite.
Conclusions
Today, these United States are a declining nation on fire. President-elect Trump has promised to break the chain of self-destructive behaviors leading towards the hegemony of China. Perhaps, he will keep some of his promises. Perhaps, most. Perhaps, none.
American foreign policy towards Panama and the rest of Latin America will test Trump’s mettle. The enemy already is through the gates. The consequences of our failure to eradicate Chinese military interests and the military interests of other of our enemies will be too destructive to contemplate.
Should Trump fail to fulfill his promised mission, be there an alternative? Yes but it may be unpleasant in the short run although worth the discomfort in the long run.
What is that alternative? It’s based upon Biobehavioral Science. You’ll find a detail description in Retribution Fever.