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Operation Just Cause: The Storming of Panama
The authors visited each major battle site to write this authoritative and vivid account of Operation Just Cause--and offer a firsthand account of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the U.S.invasion of Panama, and the fall of General Noriega, in December, 1989. Index.
453 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 7, 2020
Well researched and competently written with a bit of repeating itself. Hard for me to be objective because I was there as an active-duty Air Force member and it burned me that throughout the book, the authors treated the Operation as a success solely because of the Army's accomplishments with barely a whisper of support from the other services and the thousands of U.S. troops on the ground before, during and after the operation. Well, it's ancient history now so it's useless to point out all the problems I had with the book. If you are an Army vet, this is a big Hoo-rah. If your heart belongs to another branch of the Armed Forces, this book shows how your support is taken for granted. Be advised, the title should really be "Operation Just Cause: the Army's actions in the Storming of Panama." Apparently, the peons operating the runways, logistics, makeshift morgues, press accommodations, were just in the way. Especially since I was Mr. Baker's press escort when he returned for additional interviews. I witnessed who he spoke with and the information he gathered regarding the Air Force's support.
June 28, 2017
A straightforward military history of the 1989 invasion, published 1991, so there's little of Panama's history afterward. Told pretty much from the U.S. viewpoint, it's a military-history account, here's where these units were, here's where they went and what they did. It's a short telling of one event, an episode, although with little context in past history or the long-term aftermath.
December 3, 2019
A well written and researched history of Operation Just Cause, timely as it's 30th anniversary is quickly approaching.
February 16, 2025
Military history is not my thing, so this was a dry but necessary read for my for research. I got a lot of useful details out of it, but the bias grated on me.
Most sources used are American military, so Panamanians are portrayed as ignorant or incompetent. The most ironic statement was regarding the attack on Panama Viejo, where the PDF are described as "putt[ing] up only a fleeting defense." If you read between the lines (i.e., the start and end times of the attack), 20 Panamanian soldiers held off a battalion of American soldiers for five hours. That's a heckuva "fleeting defense." Elaborate explanations are given for General Thurman's reneging of his promise to back the Giroldi coup -- which could have ended Noriega's reign near bloodlessly -- and for the military's botched paratrooper landing at Panama Viejo, but very little dignity is credited to Panamanian soldiers. Panama Viejo's commanding officer ordering a sensible retreat from a battle they couldn't possibly win, saving soldiers' lives on both sides, is summed up with the mock quote of a cowardly, "'See ya' later.'" Contrastingly, one PDF soldier who charges futiley at American soldiers is dismissed as a "naked madman," his death played for humor. So Panamanians who fought were madmen, and those who didn't were cowards.
Each American life lost is detailed, but the deaths of hundreds of Panamanians are glossed over. There are repeated statements about the U.S. military's concern for Panamanian civilians, and yet the United Nations rebuked the US for its callous disregard for civilian casualties. It was interesting to read about American concern for tank treads ruining their golf course while their other tanks were smashing civilian-occupied cars (according to several first-hand accounts not included in this book).
Again, the details in here were very useful. Even if I cringed at the blatant nationalism, it seems to be an accurate reflection of the attitudes of the time.
Oh, and the chapter titles -- really not helpful. They take a random phrase from somewhere in the chapter and pop it at the top of the chapter. Trying to go back to the chapter that talked about x or y was frustrating. There is, however, a helpful index at the back.
___
I have to add a post-script after re-reading the last chapter. Since my first reading, I've come across many first-hand accounts from Panamanians, and I have to offer a rebuttal to the paragraphs about Santo Tomas Hospital, which tellingly begin with: "Medically, too, Panama had much to learn from US soldiers." It speaks of troop medical units visiting public hospital as if it were purely a charitable act, leaving out that US soldiers barged into the hospital, guns drawn, to arrest PDF patients and take over management...and, apparently, to look down on how the hospital staff was coping with the incalculable spike in dead and wounded -- "Medical personnel found that sanitary standards were extremely low." "Literally they were short on everything." Ya think?!!! Imagine entering in the Pearl Harbor hospital on December 7, 1941, and critiquing the staff.
The book notes the deterioration of the corpses in the morgue and blames a lack of refrigeration. No mention of the way ambulances and the Red Cross were prevented by the US from entering Chorrillo to collect the dead for several days. It wasn't just that there was no more room in the morgue and they had to pile the bodies in the hallway; many of the bodies had been baking in the sun for 2-3 days before being brought in.
"Panama had plenty of doctors but no supplies." Panama has a normal amount of doctors for normal life, but not enough for a national catastrophe. Santo Tomas was severely understaffed. Many doctors refused to come in initially on the mistaken presumption that the wounded coming in were PDF and deserved what they got -- because who would have guessed that most of the victims would be civilians? Others refused to come in because it was too dangerous; US soldiers shot and killed people just for driving by the US embassy (across the street) to get to the hospital. One doctor recalled being shot at for stepping outside to get medical supplies from an exterior storage room. Worsening the staff shortage, military personnel sent home or arrested staff with connections to Noriega's political party or suspected of Communist sympathies. So when they write that "Panamanians could not get enough from US medics," I believe it.
Just had to get all my indignation out.
Most sources used are American military, so Panamanians are portrayed as ignorant or incompetent. The most ironic statement was regarding the attack on Panama Viejo, where the PDF are described as "putt[ing] up only a fleeting defense." If you read between the lines (i.e., the start and end times of the attack), 20 Panamanian soldiers held off a battalion of American soldiers for five hours. That's a heckuva "fleeting defense." Elaborate explanations are given for General Thurman's reneging of his promise to back the Giroldi coup -- which could have ended Noriega's reign near bloodlessly -- and for the military's botched paratrooper landing at Panama Viejo, but very little dignity is credited to Panamanian soldiers. Panama Viejo's commanding officer ordering a sensible retreat from a battle they couldn't possibly win, saving soldiers' lives on both sides, is summed up with the mock quote of a cowardly, "'See ya' later.'" Contrastingly, one PDF soldier who charges futiley at American soldiers is dismissed as a "naked madman," his death played for humor. So Panamanians who fought were madmen, and those who didn't were cowards.
Each American life lost is detailed, but the deaths of hundreds of Panamanians are glossed over. There are repeated statements about the U.S. military's concern for Panamanian civilians, and yet the United Nations rebuked the US for its callous disregard for civilian casualties. It was interesting to read about American concern for tank treads ruining their golf course while their other tanks were smashing civilian-occupied cars (according to several first-hand accounts not included in this book).
Again, the details in here were very useful. Even if I cringed at the blatant nationalism, it seems to be an accurate reflection of the attitudes of the time.
Oh, and the chapter titles -- really not helpful. They take a random phrase from somewhere in the chapter and pop it at the top of the chapter. Trying to go back to the chapter that talked about x or y was frustrating. There is, however, a helpful index at the back.
___
I have to add a post-script after re-reading the last chapter. Since my first reading, I've come across many first-hand accounts from Panamanians, and I have to offer a rebuttal to the paragraphs about Santo Tomas Hospital, which tellingly begin with: "Medically, too, Panama had much to learn from US soldiers." It speaks of troop medical units visiting public hospital as if it were purely a charitable act, leaving out that US soldiers barged into the hospital, guns drawn, to arrest PDF patients and take over management...and, apparently, to look down on how the hospital staff was coping with the incalculable spike in dead and wounded -- "Medical personnel found that sanitary standards were extremely low." "Literally they were short on everything." Ya think?!!! Imagine entering in the Pearl Harbor hospital on December 7, 1941, and critiquing the staff.
The book notes the deterioration of the corpses in the morgue and blames a lack of refrigeration. No mention of the way ambulances and the Red Cross were prevented by the US from entering Chorrillo to collect the dead for several days. It wasn't just that there was no more room in the morgue and they had to pile the bodies in the hallway; many of the bodies had been baking in the sun for 2-3 days before being brought in.
"Panama had plenty of doctors but no supplies." Panama has a normal amount of doctors for normal life, but not enough for a national catastrophe. Santo Tomas was severely understaffed. Many doctors refused to come in initially on the mistaken presumption that the wounded coming in were PDF and deserved what they got -- because who would have guessed that most of the victims would be civilians? Others refused to come in because it was too dangerous; US soldiers shot and killed people just for driving by the US embassy (across the street) to get to the hospital. One doctor recalled being shot at for stepping outside to get medical supplies from an exterior storage room. Worsening the staff shortage, military personnel sent home or arrested staff with connections to Noriega's political party or suspected of Communist sympathies. So when they write that "Panamanians could not get enough from US medics," I believe it.
Just had to get all my indignation out.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews