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From Japsn snd thé FtJr East
Canal Zone Handover?
AMERICJ\:S
STRATEGIC
SURRENDER
The United States is on the verge of concluding a new treaty with
Panama which would relinquish its historie sovereign rights to
the Canal Zone. But would a "new re/ationship" with Panama
work? At stake is the security of not only America but much of
the free world.
by
Gene H. Hogberg
R
epresentatives of the United
States and Republic of Panama
have recently concluded an–
other round of negotiations with the
aim of producing a new treaty to
replace the 1903 pact under which
Panama granted the U.S. control
"in perpetuity"- meaning forever-
6
of a ten-mile strip across the Central
American isthmus.
Within the 547-square-mile terri–
tory, the United States has, since its
completion in 1914, operated, main–
tained and defended the famous
ocean-to-ocean Panama Canal. De–
spite its age, the Canal, with its
high-level lake and gravity-fed
locks, remains one of the engineer–
ing marvels of the world, an enter–
prise once described as representing
"the greatest liberty man has ever
taken with nature."
For years Panama has demanded
a return of the Zone to its bisected
country-complete with the strategic
waterway-which has cost the Amer–
ican taxpayer a total investment of
nearly $7 billion. And as Panama's
- demands-backed by threats of vio–
lence- have grown stronger, Amer–
ica's resolve to hang on has grown
weaker, to the point where she ap–
pears willing to give in altogether.
Vital Llfeline
It
is difficult to conceive of a more
strategic single piece of real estate
anywhere on earth than the Canal
Zone with its 50-mile-long fresh
water link between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. Approximately
13,200 ships transited the Canal in
1976, nearly three-fourths of them
going to or coming from American
ports, carrying one-sixth of U.S.
ocean-bome commerce.
While sorne of the newer super–
tankers are too big for the Canal's
l ,000- by 110-foot locks, the vast
majority of the world's oceangoing
vessels can easily navigate the
waterway, including all the newer
container ships which have revolu–
tionized the shipping industry.
The economic impact of the clo–
sure of the Canal upon American
industry- should that ever occur–
would range all the way from "seri–
ously intlationary" to "catastroph–
ic." With dependence on foreign
oil rising nearer to the 50 per–
cent mark, the United States- in
the interest of saving fuel alone–
cannot afford the prospect of string–
ing its shipping "around the Horn"
of South America.
The United States is by no means
the only beneficiary of the Canal,
which has been called the "funnel of
world commerce." To maritime
powers such as Japan, Norway, the
United Kingdom and Greece, unhamp–
ered use of the waterway is essential.
Without the Canal the Japanese–
who transport one-third of their oce–
anic trade through it-could not ef–
fectively ship their goods to the East
Coast of the United States, or to
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1977