Word: panama
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Approval of the agreement by Panama is a pretty sure bet. A sharp outcry from the country's militant left is expected over the retention of U.S. bases in the zone, but then much of the Panamanian left (as well as the right) is in exile. But many Panamanians, perhaps unrealistically, look to the treaty to cure many of their national ills?including a zero growth rate. Says Nicolas Ardito Barletta, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy: "This will create a perfect situation for a lasting boom...
...sentiment and skillfully exploited by such conservative Republican Senators as Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Helms flaunts a recent poll of 1,011 adult Americans by the Opinion Research Corporation, showing 78% for keeping the canal, only 14% willing to cede it to Panama. Yet the survey does not specify the conditions under which the U.S. might relinquish the canal...
Trying to hang on to the canal in the face of growing opposition might be more of a threat to U.S. security than gradually ceding control. "This thing is terribly explosive," says a high Administration source. "If the treaty is rejected, we'll confront a bloody mess in Panama, and elsewhere." It is generally conceded that the waterway is basically indefensible. Determined guerrillas could close it down for an indefinite period by lobbing a few hand grenades into lock machinery. Says a top British military expert: "The whole history of the years of decolonization since 1945 has shown that however...
...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...
...prove its mettle by maintaining "in perpetuity" an achievement of the steam age. Moreover, in adjusting to a changing situation and sharing its accomplishments with the rest of the world, the nation demonstrates skills and ingenuity of a different but no less vital sort. In that sense, the Panama Canal will always be American...