Press Releases 2004
December 12, 2004
The United States, Panama and our shared security agenda
Recently much has been said publicly and written in these pages about alleged plans by the United States to “remilitarize” Panama’s public forces. Like a Rorschach test, visits by U.S. officials like Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Army South Commander Brig. Gen. Jack Gardner have led to extravagant fantasies and conspiracy theories.
Let me be clear: the United States has no interest in “remilitarizing” Panama’s public forces.
Like any government in the world, the Government of Panama has the inescapable responsibility to provide security to the people of Panama and to ensure the integrity of Panama’s borders and its sovereign control of its territory. Only the Government of Panama can decide how to complete this vital task.
Decisions about public order are entirely in the hands of the Panamanian people and the elected leaders of Panama.
Since the departure of the last U.S. military forces in Panama and in particular over the past two years, the United States and Panama have developed what I would call a “normal” security relationship, which is similar to our relationship with other countries in the region. This relationship responds to our mature pursuit of our mutual interests. Of course, this relationship is shaped by our shared interest in Canal security and specific regional concerns about narcotics, money laundering, and terrorism.
Those who raise the specter of a creeping militarism simply are not looking closely at the kind of assistance we provide. Next year, in February, we will begin a series of humanitarian assistance projects “New Horizons”, working with SINAPROC and the ministries of Health and Education to use U.S. military reserve forces to provide schools and health clinics in the Azuero Peninsula. This type of assistance is mutually beneficial – providing training opportunities for U.S. forces and very real assistance to needy populations. Panamanian counterparts will learn from U.S. partners new techniques and approaches to humanitarian assistance.
The United States does provide training to members of Panama’s public forces. We provide police-to-police training in areas like investigative techniques and community policing. The U.S. military provides training in areas like logistics, management, human rights, river operations, and humanitarian assistance. Much of our assistance and training actually goes to the civil defense organization SINAPROC. Because Panama has no military, the PPF are called upon to perform roles that in my country are performed by the military. But civilian police in the United States do not have the expertise to provide assistance to institutions like the national police who patrol the Darien, the SMN, and the SAN, among others, and only the Department of Defense can provide any meaningful assistance to these civilian Panamanian institutions.
The United States is a good friend and reliable partner for Panama. Each year we spend nearly $40 million dollars in community development assistance, agricultural projects, support for democracy, scholarships, and, yes, assistance to Panama’s public forces. All that we do responds directly to the requests and interests of the Government and people of Panama. We view our relationship as a partnership in which each side benefits from our cooperation.
The domestic debate over the roles and functions of Panama’s public forces is valuable and a healthy demonstration of democratic discourse. Except for our firm support of democratic practices and principles, the United States is not a protagonist in this story and I believe it does the Panamanian people a great disservice to portray the United States as the boogeyman in what is essentially a Panamanian question.