"That invasion, less than eight months before Iraq invaded Kuwait, was condemned by the UN General Assembly," explains former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. "No action was taken, although the United States violated all the international laws later violated by Iraq when it invaded Kuwait, plus a number of Western Hemisphere conventions and the Panama Canal Treaties."

Utilizing a classic spin technique, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Thomas Pickering defended the invasion by claiming that Article 51 of the UN Charter "provides for the use of armed force to defend a country, to defend our interests and our people." Pickering argued that Bush was compelled to invade because Panama was "being used as a base for smuggling drugs into the United States." Since such durable disinformation tactics never seem to fail, the long reliable CIA asset General Manuel Noriega fell from grace in record time.

Estimates range from 500 to 3000 dead Panamanian civilians killed during the invasion and the fighting afterwards. Bush the Elder was later asked if getting Noriega was worth all those deaths. As if to confirm the unspoken tenet that some lives count more than others, the president replied: "Every human life is precious, and yet I have to answer, yes, it has been worth it."

Can you visualize that?

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.

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