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to conti nuing demands of Pan–
amanians has been met by accelera–
t ing demands , bl ackmai l, and
temper tantrums on their part. One
concession has lead to another coo–
cessioo, a_nd our relations with Pan–
ama for the last 20 years have
simply been a succession of con–
cessions on our part. It's as if the
negotiators for both parties have
been on the same side- Panama's."
In fact, the negotiations which
have been going on and off for the
past 12 years cannot truly be consid–
ered negotia tions a t all. Professor
Dozer told
The Plain Truth
of one
particularly tragicomic episode:
"From the very beginning these
negotiations have lacked the central
feature of negotiation, namely a
quid-pro-quo, give-and-take rela–
tionship. When 1 had an opportu–
nity in 1967 to talk wi th Am–
bassador Joseph Farland, our am–
bassador who began the negotia–
tions with Panama in 1965,
1
asked
him: 'Joe, when you conducted the
negotiations with Panama, did you
make any counterdemands upon
Panama? Did you ask for anything
in exchange for the Canal and the
Canal Zone?' His answer was, 'No,
1
don' t think
1
did .. .. Oh yes, on
second thought, 1 asked the Pan–
amanians to give us an additional
55 feet of land adjoining the U.S.
embassy residence [in Panama City)
for a parking lot, which they had
promised.' 'And did you get it?' 1
asked him. 'No,' he answered rue–
fully.
"Now the idea of exchanging the
Panama Canal for a 55-foot fron–
tage of parking lot is a ridiculous
comparison, but through the years
the U.S. has made no othe r de–
mands upon Panama in these so–
called negotiations except to ask the
Panamanians to abandon their tan–
trums and quit rioting against the
U.S. This is the only benefi t we
would derive from the giveaway
policy."
And that "benefit" would not
likely last one day into a new treaty!
New reasons fo r attacking the
American "oppressors" still on hand
under the new arrangement would
surely be found . Tensions would be
greater than ever before-only this
time the Cana l itself would be in
clear danger.
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1977
"When you conducted the
negotiations with
Panama, did you make
any counterdemands
on Panama? Did you ask
-for anything in
exchange for the Canal
and the Canal Zone?"
"No
. ..
Oh, yes, on
second thought, 1
asked the Panamanians
to give us
an additional 55
feet of land at our
embassy for a parking
lot, which they had
promised." "And did
you get it?" "No."
Longtime readers of
The Plain
Truth
who have a lso read our book–
let
The United States and British
Commonwea/th in Prophecy
(write
for your free copy today if you have
not read it) know that the Uni ted
States, Britain, and the English–
speaking Commonwealth nat ions
have been the end-time recipients of
the birthright promise of na tional
greatness conferred by Almighty
God upon the patriarch Abraham.
The "Sea Gate" Blessing
I n detailing e lements of this
promise, God told Abraham: "That
in blessing
1
will bless thee, and in
multiplying 1 will multiply thy seed
as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sa nd which is upon the sea shore;
and thy seed shall possess the gate
of his enemies" (G en. 22: 17). The
Fenton translation phrases it in this
manner: " ... And your race shall
possess the
gates
[plural] of its ene–
mies."
The "gates" of enemy nations a re
the strategic land and sea gates of
entrance to or exit from these na–
tions. Although all wealth comes
from the ground, prosperity and af- ·
ftuence on a national scale have
come also by industry and com–
merce in modero times. And com–
merce between na tions, even in the
jet age, has been transacted a lmost
totally vía the sea-lanes of th e
world.
The keys to the world's sea-la nes,
mo reove r , a re th e various sea
gates- which Soviet strategists view,
interes tingly enough, as " choke
points"-areas to grab hold of and
restrict others' access to, not as gates
which swing open wide to the com–
merce of the world for the benefit of
all na tí'ons.
Many Americans, especially the
younger generation who have lived
through times of unprecedented na–
tiona l prosperity, seem unaware of
their nation's critica! dependence
upon foreign trade (66 of America's
77 vita l minerals have to be impor–
ted to a large degree) and unaware
tha t continued, unhampered access
to an area so vital as the Panama
Canal can mean the difference be–
tween economic well-being and a
crushing depression!
Jettisonlng a Blrthright Blessing
In their rise to world power, Brita in
and America carne into possession
of nearly every major land and sea
gate in the world. But today, most of
them, such as the Suez Canal, Aden
and Singapore, have been lost as
Britain's sun has set and that na tion
ha s s hriveled back to " littl e
England."
The Panama Canal is next on the
list to go-the Russian Navy is
steaming toward the "gate"- unless
the American people and their po–
lit ica l leaders recognize and return
to the God who has faithfully
blessed their na tion so abundantly
for the past two centuries.
This is not "our land,' ' as the song
goes, but
God's /and.
The Panama
Canal sea gate is part and paree! of
Amer ica's God-given birthright ,
and a necessary vital territorial in–
gredient which has ensured and pro–
tected our inheritance. If America's
politicians foolishly dispose of part
of the national birthright for noth–
ing (at least Esau in the Bible got a
bowl of soup for his!),
it
shows they
place little value on the future of
the ir country.
lt's time America's leaders woke
up to the real cha llenge that con–
fronts them. If they give up control
of the Canal Zone now out of fear
of another temper tantrum from
tiny Panama, how would they react
to a Soviet clamp on the Istbmus in
the future?
o
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