TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/052989/05298900.026

Text File | 1992-09-23 | 3.8 KB | 77 lines

                                                                                WORLD, Page 61

America Abroad

The Dukakis Approach


By Strobe Talbott


    The debacle in Panama is a reminder that the U.S., to its
everlasting credit but also to its occasional grief, was never
cut out for imperialism. Even the vestige of such an adventure
at the beginning of the 20th century is enough to complicate
American domestic politics and foreign policy alike at the end
of the century. Teddy Roosevelt not only dug the big ditch but
helped carve out the little nation around it by supporting
secessionists in a malaria-ridden province of Colombia. But no
good deed in the pursuit of empire goes unpunished. The legacy
that T.R. left his successors has turned increasingly from a
strategic and commercial boon to a political curse. The
spectacle of Panamanians tearing down U.S. flags marred the last
days of Dwight Eisenhower's term and the first of Lyndon
Johnson's.

    Jimmy Carter wisely signed a treaty that provides for
Panamanian sovereignty over the canal in 1999. He went a long
way toward defusing the anti-Americanism that has been an
obstacle to U.S. policy in Latin America. But he paid a heavy
price at home. The "giveaway" increased Carter's vulnerability
on the right and softened him up for his eventual defeat in
1980. Last year's feckless attempt to oust Manuel Antonio
Noriega turned into one of the fiascoes of the Reagan
Administration.

    Now it is George Bush's turn. So far, he has made the best
of a bad situation. After Noriega stole the Panamanian election,
Bush consulted regional leaders and downplayed the threat of
military intervention. The result has been the isolation of
Noriega and the reassurance of other Latin Americans about U.S.
methods and intentions. Last week the Organization of American
States passed a resolution holding Noriega responsible for
"abuses" and called on him to surrender power.

    But precisely those features of his Panama policy that have
served Bush well make a mockery of a prominent theme in his
presidential campaign. As a candidate, Bush lambasted Michael
Dukakis for advocating the sort of military restraint and
multilateral diplomacy on which Bush has relied as President.

    In a speech to the American Legion on Sept. 7, Bush quoted
Teddy Roosevelt on how "sentimentality" is out of place when
vital national interests are at stake. He cited the 1983
invasion of Grenada and the 1986 bombing raid on Libya as models
of the way the U.S. should protect itself against enemies who
are doing Moscow's dirty work. At numerous rallies Bush
suggested that Dukakis would be like Carter, whom he accused of
having presided over "America's retreat in this hemisphere and
around the world" -- an echo of the canal sellout charge.

    Yet when Bush found himself in his first foreign policy
crisis, the threat had nothing to do with the Soviet Union or
its minions. The Monroe Doctrine, which proclaims the U.S.'s
determination to keep the real imperialists from Europe out of
the Western hemisphere, is irrelevant. Noriega is Uncle Sam's
creature as well as his nemesis. Some Administration officials
made a brief, silly attempt last week to blame the Kremlin for
exploiting the trouble. Their only evidence: TASS, standing the
story on its head, reported out of Panama that Noriega's
opponents had cheated at the polls and fomented violence. Hardly
anyone would have noticed the ludicrous dispatch if the
Administration hadn't publicized it.

    As a final ironic twist, one of the President's most
effective allies in the whole affair has been Jimmy Carter, and
now it is the Noriega regime that evokes Teddy Roosevelt's
memory to stir up fears that the Yanquis are coming. The
Panamanian curse has yet to be lifted, both from the U.S. and
from Panama itself.