Mas sobre el Canal de Panama. ________________________________________________________________ Jaime Forero [EMAIL PROTECTED] 281-244-8779 NASA VITT Siempre adelante !! > ---------- > Time Running Out for US Control Over Panama Canal > Conservative News Service > March 8,1999 > By Lawrence Morahan > > (CNS) - When the United States turns over control of the Panama Canal to > Panama at the end of the year, American troops will be leaving as well. > Under the terms of the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty, the United States must > evacuate its troops from Panama by December 31, 1999. > > This means no American troops will be based in Panama for the first time > since the Central American country achieved independence, with American > help, from Colombia in 1903. > > U.S. military and strategic planners have been issuing warnings about the > consequences of a U.S. pullout for years. > > "The defense and use of the Panama Canal is wrapped inextricably with the > overall global strategy of the United States and the security of the free > world," Admiral Thomas H. Moorer told the Senate Armed Services Committee > two decades ago. > > Moorer predicted in 1978, the year after President Jimmy Carter signed a > treaty with the Central American country giving control of the canal to > Panama at the end of the century, that a U.S. withdrawal would occasion a > dangerous vacuum that would possibly be filled by Soviet interests. > > Two decades later, in June 1998, Moorer testified before the Senate > Foreign > Relations Committee that his worst fears had been realized. > > The left-leaning government of Panama sold controlling rights of the > American-built port facilities that flank the canal zone on the east and > the > west. The 50-year contract awarded Balboa on the Pacific, and Cristobal on > the Atlantic, to Hong Kong shipping conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. > > The company has close links to the China Ocean Shipping Co., which is > controlled by the People's Liberation Army of China. > > Moorer, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commander of > both > the Pacific and Atlantic fleets, contends the communist Chinese > surreptitiously gained a stronghold on the Panama Canal. > > "My specific concern is that this company is controlled by the communist > Chinese," Moorer said. "And they have virtually accomplished, without a > single shot being fired, a stronghold on the Panama Canal, something which > took our country so many years to accomplish." > > Cooperation between the U.S. and Panama in the war against drugs also has > had setbacks. An attempt by the two countries to set up a Multinational > Counter-narcotics Center in Panama failed late last year, forcing the > Pentagon to seek new ways to monitor drug traffic from South America after > U.S. forces pull out. > > Public opinion polls taken in Panama over a period of years indicate > strong > and consistent numbers in favor of a continued U.S. presence after 2000. > The > House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere said in March 1995 that over > 80 > percent of Panamanians favor some sort of U.S. military presence in the > country. > > Some Panamanian political groups are opposed to a continued U.S. presence. > Talks over the counter-narcotics center broke down over the Pentagon's > insistence that American troops be allowed to carry out a range of > activities that weren't directly related to the center, such as search and > rescue operations, training flights, and logistical support activities. > >
