Word: panama
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...What claim does Panama have to the canal...
...Historically, at least, not much of one. The U.S. will be ceding the canal to Panama but not "returning" it, since Panama never really possessed it. If anything, Colombia was the aggrieved party. With American connivance, Colombian rebels "liberated" the isthmus from the Bogota government in 1903 and turned the rights to build the canal over to the U.S. Panama and its canal came to life together; without the canal, Panama could scarcely exist as a viable nation. Canal revenues account for some 25% of Panama's gross national product, 20% of its employment and almost...
...Panama run the canal as well...
...hard to beat. There have been remarkably few accidents or sinkings considering the amount of traffic. Yet there is no reason to assume that Panamanians cannot do as well; the Egyptians have learned to run the Suez Canal, which admittedly lacks the complex system of locks of the Panama Canal. Says a senior State Department official: "Nowhere is it written that you have to have a Georgia Tech degree to run the canal. The canal is damned important economically to the Panamanians. It is their only natural resource, and they will take care of it." Writes Vermont Royster, former editor...
...moment, Panama does not have the skilled manpower to take over the canal. But it has 23 years to train pilots, technicians and mechanics-a sufficient amount of time, one would think, since it takes a mere twelve years to train a brain surgeon. Panama has also said it would hire other nationals if there are not enough native citizens...