Word: ditch
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...Says one Israeli official: "If he tries to pressure us, there will be a battle royal, and it will be fought on American soil. I'm not sure we won't win." If the Israelis felt deserted by their only ally, they might conceivably launch a last-ditch Middle East war in order to cripple their Arab enemies-even though their antagonists cannot be forever subdued militarily, and there is always the danger of bringing the Soviets back massively into the Middle East. U.S. pressure for compromise must be linked to Israel's own self-interest...
That it was done was something of a miracle. After 13 years of often bitter negotiations, "principles of an agreement" on a Panama Canal Treaty were finally signed last week. If the treaty is formally approved?and that could prove a very big "if'?the fabled "Big Ditch," supreme symbol of American ingenuity and determination for generations, will gradually come under Panama's control...
...Panama Run It? A final argument against the treaty is that efficient and responsible management of the canal may be sacrificed. Since the Big Ditch was opened for business in 1914, accidents have been rare, and no ships have sunk in the canal proper. On an average day, 34 vessels move uneventfully through the canal without mishap or even tension. The U.S. has also run the canal as a bargain for shippers: tolls have been raised only twice. The operation's 1976 deficit: $7.4 million, on tolls totaling $134.3 million...
...four children after nine years in the Canal Zone. "We don't want to live where there is no U.S. jurisdiction," he explains simply. Janet DuPree (no kin), 33, a kindergarten teacher in the zone and granddaughter of one of the workers who helped dig the big ditch, betrays the festering bitterness of many of the 33,600 American Zonians. "I'm not leaving my garden to some Panamanian," she says. "Before I go, I'm going to throw all my plants and rocks into the canal...
Quiet Urging. The second agreement provides for defending the permanent neutrality of the canal-that is, some U.S. military guarantee that the Big Ditch will be open to ships from any nation. A number of the Latin American governments most openly in favor of turning the zone over to Panama have quietly urged the U.S. to insist on this guarantee. Otherwise, ask representatives from such heavy canal users as Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Peru, how could they be certain that some future Panamanian ruler might not shut off the canal to their ships in a totally unforeseeable squabble? Largely because...