textfiles-politics/pythonCode/personTestingOutput/panamatv.xml

<xml><p>[From the January-February 1990 issue of "Extra!", a publication of <ent type='ORG'>FAIR</ent>.]</p>

<p> The Media Goes to War:
HOW TELEVISION SOLD THE <ent type='GPE'>PANAMA</ent> INVASION</p>

<p> by <ent type='PERSON'>Mark Cook</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Jeff</ent> Cohen</p>

<p> TWO weeks after the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> invasion, "<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent> News" sponsored a public
opinion poll in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> that found the residents in rapture over what
happened. Even 80 percent of those whose homes had been blown up or
their relatives killed by US forces said it was worth it. Their
enthusiasm did not stop with the ousting of Gen. Manual <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>,
however. A less heavily advertised result of the poll was that 82% of
the sampled <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian patriots did not want <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian control of the
<ent type='ORG'>Canal</ent>, preferring either partial of exclusive control by the US
("<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians Strongly Back US Move," "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times," 1/6/90).
A "public opinion poll" in a country under martial law, conducted by
an agency obviously sanctioned by the invading forces, can be expected
to come up with such results. Most reporters, traveling as they did
with the US military, found little to contradict this picture. Less
than 40 hours after the invasion began, <ent type='PERSON'>Sam Donaldson</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Judd Rose</ent>
transported us to <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> via "ABC's Prime Time Live" (12/21/90).
"There were people who applauded us as we went by in a military
convoy," said <ent type='PERSON'>Rose</ent>. "The military have been very good to us [in
escorting reporters beyond the <ent type='ORG'>Canal</ent> Zone]," added <ent type='ORG'>Donaldson</ent>.
While this kind of "<ent type='ORG'>Canal</ent> Zone journalism" dominated television, a
few independent print journalists stuck out on their own. Peter
<ent type='ORG'>Eisner</ent> of "Newsday"'s <ent type='ORG'>Latin American Bureau</ent>, for example, reported
(12/28/89) that <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians were cursing US soldiers under their
breath as troops searched the home of a neighbor--a civilian--for
weapons. One <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian pointed out a man speaking to US soldiers as
a "sapo" (a toad--slang for "dirty informer") and suggested that
denouncing people to the US forces was a way of settling old scores.
A doctor living on the street said that "liberals will be laying low
for a while, and they're probably justified" because of what would
happen to those who speak out. All of Eisner's sources feared having
their names printed.
The same day's "<ent type='ORG'>Miami Herald</ent>" ran articles about <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian citizen
reactions, including concern over the hundreds of dead civilians:
"Neighbors saw six US truck loads bringing dozens of bodies" to a mass
grave. As a mother watched the body of her soldier son lowered into a
grave, her "voice rose over the crowd's silence: 'Damn the
<ent type='NORP'>Americans</ent>.'"
Obviously there was a mix of opinion inside <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>, but it was
virtually unreported on television, the dominant medium shaping US
attitudes about the invasion. <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian opposition to the US was
dismissed as nothing more than "DigBat [Dignity Battalion] thugs"
who'd been given jobs by <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>. And it was hardly acknowledged that
the high-visibility demonstration outside the Vatican Embassy the day
of Noriega's surrender had been actively "encouraged" by the US
occupying forces ("Newsday," 1/5/90).
Few TV reporters seemed to notice that the jubilant <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians
parading before their cameras day after day to endorse the invasion
spoke near-perfect English and were overwhelmingly light-skinned and
well-dressed. This in a <ent type='NORP'>Spanish</ent>-speaking country with a largely
mestizo and black population where poverty is widespread. "<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>"'s
<ent type='PERSON'>Beth Nissen</ent> (12/27/89) was one of the few TV reporters to take a close
look at the civilian deaths caused by US bombs that pulverized El
Chorillo, the poor neighborhood which ambulance drivers now call
"Little <ent type='GPE'>Hiroshima</ent>." The people of El Chorillo don't speak perfect
English, and they were less than jubilant about the invasion.</p>

<p> "Our Boys" vs. Unseen Civilians</p>

<p> In the first days of the invasion, TV journalists had one overriding
obsession: *How many <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> soldiers have died?* The question,
repeated with drumbeat regularity, tended to drown out the other
issues: <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian casualties, international law, foreign reaction.
On the morning of the invasion, "<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent>" anchor <ent type='PERSON'>Kathleen Sullivan</ent>'s voice
cracked with emotion for the US soldiers: "Nine killed, more than 50
wounded. How long can this fighting go on?" Unknown and unknowable
to "<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent>" viewers, hundreds of <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians had already been killed by
then, many buried in their homes.</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
YOU BE THE JUDGE
| * "[The invasion was legal] according to all the experts I
talked to."--<ent type='PERSON'>Rita Braver</ent> ("<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent> Evening News," 12/20/89)
| * "As far as international law is concerned, even sources in
the US government admit they were operating very near the
line."--John McWethy ("<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent> World News Tonight," 1/5/90)
| * "The territory of a state is inviolable. It may not be the
object, even temporarily, of military occupation or other
measures of force taken by another state directly or
indirectly on any grounds whatsoever."--Article 20, <ent type='ORG'>OAS</ent>
Charter
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> Judging from the calls and requests for interviews that poured into
the <ent type='ORG'>FAIR</ent> office, European and Latin <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> journalists based in the
US were stunned by the implied racism and national chauvinism in the
media display. The "<ent type='ORG'>Toronto Globe</ent> and Mail," often referred to as the
"<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times" of <ent type='GPE'>Canada</ent>, ran a front-page article (12/22/89)
critiquing <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States and its media for "the peculiar jingoism
of US society so evident to foreigners but almost invisible for most
<ent type='NORP'>Americans</ent>."
TV's continuous focus on the well-being of the invaders, and not the
invadees, meant that the screen was dominated by red, white and blue
draped coffins and ceremonies, honor rolls of the US dead, drum rolls,
remarks by <ent type='PERSON'>Dan</ent> Rather (12/21/89) about "our fallen heroes"...but no
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian funerals. This despite the fact that the invasion claimed
perhaps 50 <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian lives for every US citizen killed.
When <ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent> pool correspondent <ent type='PERSON'>Fred Francis</ent> was asked on day one
about civilian casualties on "ABC's Nightline" (12/20/89), he said he
did not know, because he and other journalists were traveling around
with the US army. <ent type='ORG'>Curiosity</ent> didn't increase in ensuing days. <ent type='ORG'>FAIR</ent>
called the TV networks daily to demand they address the issue of
civilian deaths, but journalists said they had no way of verifying the
numbers.
No such qualms existed with regards to <ent type='GPE'>Rumania</ent>, where over the
Christmas weekend "<ent type='ORG'>CNN</ent>" and other US outlets were freely dishing out
fantastic reports of 80000 people killed in days of violence, a
figure--greater that the immediate <ent type='GPE'>Hiroshima</ent> death toll--which any
editor should have dismissed out of hand. <ent type='PERSON'>Tom Brokaw</ent>'s selective
interest in civilians was evident when he devoted the first half of
"<ent type='ORG'>NBC Nightly</ent> News" (12/20/89) to <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> without mentioning non-combatant casualties, then turned to <ent type='GPE'>Rumania</ent> and immediately referred
to reports of thousands of civilian deaths.</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
Due Process Mugged
| You've seen it everywhere. It made the cover of "Newsweek,"
the front page of the "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times"' "Week in Review", and
the "<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent>", "<ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent>" and "<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>" news: Manual Noriega's mug shot,
looking just like the criminals at the end of each "Dragnet"
episode after Sgt. Joe Friday had brought them to justice.
But what you didn't often see is an acknowledgement that the
release of such mug shots is highly unusual, and may threaten
Noriega's already slim chances of getting a fair trial. The
<ent type='GPE'>Miami</ent> U.S. Attorney's office claims to have released it "under
pressure from the press," according to the "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times"
(1/14/90). "We will not comment very frequently on this case,"
U.S. Attorney <ent type='PERSON'>Dexter Lehtinen</ent> said, calling that "the key to
success." Sure, as long as the media are willing to publish
prosecution leaks without regard to the defendant's
constitutional rights.
| [Below this are two covers:]
"Newsweek" (1/15/90) has "NORIEGA'S NEXT HOME? America's New
Alcatraz" at the top; followed by "EXCLUSIVE The <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>
Files; His Treacherous Links With the Drug Cartel, <ent type='PERSON'>Castro</ent>,
<ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> and the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>", accompanied by a picture of a <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> mug
shot--he in a T-shirt holding the sign:
"U.S. MARSHAL, <ent type='GPE'>MIAMI</ent>, FL, 4.1.5.8.6. .0.0.4. '90"
| "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Post</ent>" (1/5/90) has "CANNED <ent type='ORG'>PINEAPPLE</ent>" covering half
it's cover, with a subhead "Arrogant <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>: I'm a political
prisoner"; the bottom half shows two photos: one of <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>
surrounded by three police officers restraining him, and the
other, the same mug shot as "Newsweek".
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> Not until the sixth day of the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> invasion did the US Army
augment its estimated dead (23 <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> troops, 297 alleged enemy
soldiers) to include a figure for civilians: 254. The number was
challenged as representing only a fraction of the true death toll by
the few reporters who sought out independent sources: <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian
human rights monitors, hospital workers, ambulance drivers, funeral
home directors. These sources also spoke of thousands of civilian
injuries and 10000 left homeless. Many journalists, especially on
television, were too busy cheerleading "the successful military
action" to notice the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians who didn't fare so successfully.
TV correspondents, so uncurious about civilian casualties, could not
be expected to go beyond US military assurances about who was being
arrested and why. As the "<ent type='ORG'>Boston Globe</ent>" noted (1/1/90), US forces
were arresting anyone on a blacklist compiled by the newly-installed
government. "Newsday"'s <ent type='PERSON'>Peter Eisner</ent> reported (1/7/90): "Hundreds of
intellectuals, university students, teachers and professional people
say they have been harassed and detained by US forces in the guise of
searching for hidden weapons."</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
CENSORED NEWS: Drug Links of Panama's New Rulers
| The <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> justified the invasion by claiming that
overthrowing <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was a major victory in the war on drugs.
If journalists had reported the backgrounds of the new
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian leaders installed by the US invasion, and their
connections to drug-laundering banks and drug traffickers, a
primary rationale for the invasion would have been shredded.
But few journalists scrutinized Panama's "new <ent type='NORP'>democrats</ent>"
from the country's banking and corporate elite. One who did
was <ent type='PERSON'>Jonathan Marshall</ent>, editorial page editor of the "Oakland
Tribune". In a series of editorials, "Panama's Drug, Inc."
(1/5 &amp; 1/22/90), <ent type='PERSON'>Marshall</ent> reported the following:
PRESIDENT <ent type='PERSON'>GUILLERMO ENDARA</ent> is a wealthy corporate attorney
for several companies run by <ent type='PERSON'>Carlos Eleta</ent>, a <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian
business tycoon arrested in <ent type='GPE'>Georgia</ent> last April for conspiring
to import more than half a ton of cocaine each month into the
US. The <ent type='NORP'>Brazilian</ent> daily, "<ent type='ORG'>Jornal</ent> do <ent type='ORG'>Brasil</ent>," reported that
<ent type='PERSON'>Endara</ent> was Eleta's lawyer for 25 years and a direct
stockholder in one of his companies. Endara's political
mentor and idol is former President <ent type='PERSON'>Arnulfo Arias</ent>, who
reportedly amassed $2 million from smuggling contraband,
including hard drugs.
VICE PRESIDENT GUILLERMO "BILLY" <ent type='ORG'>FORD</ent> is a co-founder and
part owner of <ent type='ORG'>the Dadeland Bank</ent>, in <ent type='GPE'>Miami</ent>, a repository for
<ent type='GPE'>Medellin</ent> drug cartel money. One of Ford's co-owner's,
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian <ent type='PERSON'>Steven Samos</ent>, used the bank in the late 1970s to
launder millions of dollars in drug money for a <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>-trained
<ent type='NORP'>Cuban</ent> <ent type='NORP'>American</ent>. Panama's new ambassador to the US, Carlos
Rodriguez, is also a co-founder of <ent type='ORG'>the Dadeland Bank</ent>. (The
"<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times" on Jan. 28 mustered up <ent type='PERSON'>Roberto Eisenmann</ent>, the
publisher of Panama's "La Prensa," to deny allegations linking
<ent type='ORG'>Ford</ent> to money laundering. The "Times" didn't mention that
<ent type='PERSON'>Eisenmann</ent> is another co-founder of the bank.)
ATTORNEY GENERAL ROGELIO CRUZ served as a director of the
First Interamericas Bank. The bank, closed down for drug-related "irregular operations" in 1985, was owned by the
leader of Columbia's <ent type='GPE'>Cali</ent> cocaine cartel and reportedly
laundered money for <ent type='PERSON'>Jorge Ochoa</ent> of the <ent type='GPE'>Medellin</ent> cartel.
Panama's new chief justice of <ent type='ORG'>the supreme court</ent> and new
treasury minister were also members of the bank's board.
<ent type='PERSON'>Marshall</ent> concluded: "President Endara's appointments read
like a who's who of Panama's oligarchy. Many have personal
or business associations with the drug-money laundering
industry." Portraying Noriega's replacement by the <ent type='PERSON'>Endara</ent>
clique as a strike against drug dealing is a cruel joke.
The importance of <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> to the international narcotics
trade has long revolved around its supersecret banks--cool
places to launder "hot money." In December 1986, Noriega's
legislature pushed through a rollback in the country's bank
secrecy law. In May 1987, when Noriega's government froze
accounts in 18 banks as part of an anti-drug operation mounted
by the <ent type='ORG'>DEA</ent>, it sparked a massive banking crisis in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>.
The actions were vigorously opposed by Noriega's foes in the
banking elite. These foes now run Panama's government thanks
to the US invasion. The "war on drugs" continues.
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> The "Objective" Reporter's Lexicon: We, Us, Our</p>

<p> In covering the invasion, many TV journalists abandoned even the
pretense of operating in a neutral, independent mode. Television
anchors used pronouns like "we" and "us" in describing the mission
into <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>, as if they themselves were members of the invasion force,
or at least helpful advisors. "<ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent>"'s <ent type='PERSON'>Brokaw</ent> exclaimed, on day one:
"We haven't got [<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>] yet." "<ent type='ORG'>CNN</ent>" anchor <ent type='PERSON'>Mary Anne Loughlin</ent> asked
a former <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> official (12/21/89): "<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> has stayed one step ahead
of us. Do you think we'll be able to find him?" After eagerly
quizzing a panel of US military experts on "MacNeil/Lehrer" (12/21/89)
about whether "we" had wiped out the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian Defense Forces (<ent type='ORG'>PDF</ent>),
<ent type='PERSON'>Judy Woodruff</ent> concluded, "So not only have we done away with the <ent type='ORG'>PDF</ent>,
we've also done away with the police force." So much for the
separation of press and state.
<ent type='PERSON'>Ted Koppel</ent> and other TV journalists had a field day mocking the
<ent type='PERSON'>Orwellianly</ent>-titled "<ent type='ORG'>Dignity Battalions</ent>," but none were heard
ridiculing the invasion's code-name: "Operation Just Cause." The day
after the invasion, "<ent type='ORG'>NBC Nightly</ent> News" offered its own case study in
Orwellian Newspeak: While one correspondent referred to the US
military occupiers as engaging in "peacekeeping chores," another
correspondent on the same show referred to Latin <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> diplomats at
the <ent type='ORG'>OAS</ent> condemning the US as a "lynch mob." After <ent type='GPE'>the Soviet Union</ent>
criticized the invasion as "gunboat diplomacy" (as had many other
countries), <ent type='PERSON'>Dan</ent> Rather dismissed it as "old-line, hard-line talk from
<ent type='GPE'>Moscow</ent>" ("<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent> Evening News," 12/20/89).
Journalism gave way to state propaganda when a "<ent type='ORG'>CNN</ent>" correspondent
dutifully reported on the day of the invasion: "US troops have taken
detainees but we are not calling them 'prisoners of war' because the
US has not declared war." (That kind of obedient reporter probably
still refers to the <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent> "conflict.") Similarly, on Day 1, many
networks couldn't bring themselves to call the invasion an invasion
until they got the green light from <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>: instead, it was
referred to variously as a military action, intervention, operation,
expedition, affair, insertion.</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
"<ent type='PERSON'>NORIEGA</ent> OFFERED HIS USUAL DAMP LIMP
HANDSHAKE TO BUSH'S FIRM GRIP."
| For sheer propaganda, high marks go to "Newsweek"'s <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>
cover story (1/15/90) featuring excerpts from a book about
<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> by "<ent type='ORG'>Wall Street Journal</ent>" reporter <ent type='PERSON'>Frederick Kempe</ent>.
The book and its author were much touted by the media during
the invasion. Some highlights:
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ELLIOTT ABRAMS. "By the summer of
1985, the State Department's new Assistant Secretary of State
for Latin <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> Affairs, <ent type='PERSON'>Elliott Abrams</ent>, began to believe
that Noriega's help for the <ent type='ORG'>Contras</ent> was overestimated and his
general harm to democracy and human rights was underestimated.
<ent type='PERSON'>Abrams</ent> had come out of State's human rights office..."
<ent type='PERSON'>Abrams</ent> hardly "came out" of a human rights office. He was
put there to disseminate anti-<ent type='GPE'>Nicaragua</ent> war propaganda as
human rights information, an operation repeatedly exposed and
denounced by <ent type='ORG'>Americas Watch</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Abrams</ent> "human rights" work
included attacks on the church-based <ent type='LOC'>Sanctuary</ent> movement, which
offered refuge to Central <ent type='NORP'>Americans</ent> fleeing death squads.
A careful reading of the "Newsweek" article leaves the
sneaking suspicion that much of the material was provided by
<ent type='PERSON'>Abrams</ent> himself. "[<ent type='PERSON'>Abrams</ent>] argued at several interagency
meetings that backing the <ent type='ORG'>Contras</ent> could only be one part of
an overall strategy of promoting democracy in the region. He
wanted more pressure on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> to democratize--without
endangering the good relationship that existed."
FIRM, REFINED BRAHMIN VS. LIMP, MESTIZO <ent type='ORG'>BASTARD</ent>. "The two
intelligence chiefs contrasted in style and substance: <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>
was lanky and refined, raised by a <ent type='NORP'>Brahmin</ent> New England family.
He towered over the five-foot five-inch <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was
mean-streets Mestizo, the bastard son of his father's
domestic. <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> offered his usual damp, limp handshake to
Bush's firm grip. They were clearly uncomfortable with each
other." Aside from the racism of the piece, the line about
the two being uncomfortable with each other is significant-
-primarily to protect <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>. A second later: "Only in the
twisted mind of Manuel Antonio <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> could that 1976
luncheon with George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> be construed as the beginning of a
beautiful friendship." Though it lasted for more than ten
years.
BUT IT WAS ALL CASEY'S FAULT. George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> wasn't
responsible for the ongoing ties to <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>. The guy to
blame, according to <ent type='GPE'>Kempe</ent>, was--as usual--the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> director
<ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> Casey. Casey met often with <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> to discuss aid
to the contras.
AND CASTRO'S, OF COURSE. <ent type='GPE'>Kempe</ent> makes a herculean effort
with scant evidence to implicate <ent type='PERSON'>Fidel Castro</ent> in all the drug
dealing. But as other journalists have pointed out, Castro's
main need for <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> was as a haven for <ent type='NORP'>Cuban</ent>
front companies to engage in legitimate trade with <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent>
countries in circumvention of the US economic blockade ("<ent type='GPE'>Miami</ent>
Herald," 12/28/89). An editorial in Kempe's "Wall Street
Journal" (1/8/90) called on the US to cut a deal with <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>
if he'd implicate <ent type='PERSON'>Castro</ent>.
A WALK ON THE <ent type='ORG'>HOMOPHOBIC</ent> SIDE. Perhaps aimed at bolstering
the anti-gay vote in support of the invasion, "Newsweek" ran
a sidebar from Kempe's book under the headline, "A Walk on
the Bisexual Side": "The macho officer [<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>], proficient
in judo and parachuting, would perfume himself heavily on off
hours and wear yellow jump suits with yellow shoes, travel
the world with a male pal with whom he was widely rumored to
be having a torrid affair, and surround himself with openly
gay ambassadors and advisers...Armchair psychiatrists credit
Noriega's sexual confusion to his gay brother, Luis Carlos
<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>, the only person <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> ever trusted completely."
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> Where Did Our Love Go?</p>

<p> Many reporters uncritically promoted <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> explanations for its
break-up with <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Clifford Krauss</ent> reported ("NY Times," 1/21/90)
that <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> "began as a <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> asset but fell afoul of <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> over
his involvement in drug and arms trafficking." "<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>"'s <ent type='PERSON'>Peter Jennings</ent>
told viewers on the day of the invasion, "Let's remember that the
United States was very close to Mr. <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> before the whole question
of drugs came up." Actually, Noriega's drug links were asserted by US
intelligence as early as 1972. In 1976, after US espionage officials
proposed that <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> be dumped because of drugs and double-dealing,
then-<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> director George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> made sure the relationship continued
("S.F. Examiner," 1/5/90; "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent>er," 1/8/90). US intelligence
overlooked the drug issue year after year as long as <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was an
eager ally in US espionage and covert operations, especially those
targeted against <ent type='GPE'>Nicaragua</ent>.
<ent type='PERSON'>Peter Jennings</ent>' claim that the US broke with <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> after the
"question of drugs came up" turns reality upside down. Noriega's
involvement in drug trafficking was purportedly heaviest in the early
1980s when his relationship with the US was especially close. By
1986, when the <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>/US relationship began to fray, experts agree
that <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> had already drastically curtailed his drug links. The
two drug-related indictments against <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Florida</ent> cover
activities from 1981 through March 1986 ("Analysts Challenge View of
<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> as Drug Lord," "<ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Post</ent>," 1/7/90).</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
Objective Journalists of State Propagandists?
| * "one of the more odious creatures with whom <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent>
States has had a relationship."--<ent type='PERSON'>Peter Jennings</ent> ("<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>,"
12/20/89)
| * "At the top of the list of the world's drug thieves and
scums."--<ent type='PERSON'>Dan</ent> Rather ("<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent>," 12/20/89)
| * Q: "Do we bring him here and put him on trial...or do we
just neutralize him in some way?"--<ent type='PERSON'>John Chancellor</ent>
A: "I think you bring him here and you make it a
showcase trial in the war on drugs and justice prevails."-
-<ent type='PERSON'>Tom Brokaw</ent> ("<ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent>," 12/20/89)
| *"We lose numbers like that in large training exercises."-
-<ent type='PERSON'>John Chancellor</ent>, commenting approvingly upon hearing only
nine US soldiers had died ("<ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent>," 12/20/89)
| * "Noriega's reputation as a brutal drug-dealing bully who
reveled in his public contempt for <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States all
but begged for strong retribution."--<ent type='PERSON'>Ted Koppel</ent> ("<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>
Nightline," 12/20/89)
| * "<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> asked for this. President <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> listed all the
things <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> had done to force him to take this action.
Why does <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> do these things?"--"<ent type='ORG'>CNN</ent>" anchor Ralph
Wenge, interviewing a former US military commander
(12/21/89)
| * "<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> seemed almost superhuman in his ability to
slither away before we got him."--Anchor <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Beutel</ent>
("W<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>-TV," <ent type='ORG'>New York</ent>, 1/3/90)
| * "[George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> has completed] a Presidential initiation
rite [joining] <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> leaders who since <ent type='EVENT'>World War</ent> II have
felt a need to demonstrate their willingness to shed blood
to protect or advance what they construe as the national
interest...<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> has shown him as a man capable of bold
action."--R.W. Apple ("<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times," front page news
analysis, 12/21/89)
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> When, as vice president, <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> met with <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> in December
1983, besides discussing <ent type='GPE'>Nicaragua</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> allegedly raised questions
about drug money laundering. According to author <ent type='PERSON'>Kevin Buckley</ent>,
<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> told top aide <ent type='PERSON'>Jose Blandon</ent> that he'd picked up the following
message from the <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> meeting: "<ent type='GPE'>The United</ent> States wanted help for the
contras so badly that if he even promised it, the US government would
turn a blind eye to money-laundering and setbacks to democracy in
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>." In 1985 and '86, <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> met several times with Oliver <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>
to discuss the assistance <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was providing to the contras, such
as training contras at <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian Defense Force bases ("<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> could
give some interesting answers," <ent type='PERSON'>Kevin Buckley</ent>, "St. Petersburg Times,"
1/3/90). <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> didn't fall from grace until he stopped being a
"team player" in the US war against <ent type='GPE'>Nicaragua</ent>.
Democracy had as little to do with the break-up as drugs. If
<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> believed <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> had given his strongarm rule a green light in
1983, confirmation came the next year when Noriega's troops seized
ballot boxes and blatantly rigged Panama's presidential election.
Noriega's candidate, Nicolas Ardito Barletta, was also "our"
candidate--an economist who had been a student and assistant to former
University of Chicago professor <ent type='PERSON'>George Shultz</ent>. Though loudly
protested by <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians, the fraud that put Ardito Barletta in power
was cheered by the US Embassy. Secretary of State <ent type='PERSON'>Shultz</ent> attended his
inauguration. (See "The Press on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>," "Extra!", Mar/Apr 88;
<ent type='PERSON'>Richard Reeves</ent>, "<ent type='ORG'>San Francisco Chronicle</ent>," 12/25/89)
As the <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> case progresses toward trial, the media's treatment
of key witnesses against the General may offer a case study in bias.
Several of the witnesses have already testified on these matters in a
very public forum--hearings before Senator <ent type='PERSON'>John Kerry</ent>'s Foreign
Affairs Subcommittee on Narcotics. At that time, February 1988, they
fingered <ent type='GPE'>Nicaragua</ent>n contras as cocaine cohorts of <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> operating
under the umbrella of the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> and Ollie <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>. The hearings were
ignored or distorted by national media outlets, with Reagan/<ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>
officials and <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> dismissing the witnesses as drug trafficking felons.
("Extra!," Mar/Apr 88; <ent type='PERSON'>Warren Hinckle</ent>, "S.F. Examiner," 1/11/90). In
a predictable turnaround, as soon as <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was apprehended, TV news
brought forth experts to explain that "when one prosecutes someone
like <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> for drug dealing, witnesses will of necessity be drug
dealers."</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
Reporters Rallying Round The Flag
| Journalists justified their role as distributors of
government handouts in different ways. Asked on Day 1 why US
opponents of the invasion were virtually invisible on-the-air,
a "<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent>" producer (who declined to give her name) told
"Extra!": "When <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> troops are involved and taking
losses, this is not the time to be running critical
commentary. The <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> public will be rallying around the
flag."
Some TV reporters claimed they were forced to rely on
official US versions because they had nothing else. As
"Newsday" reported Jan. 14, "<ent type='PERSON'>Peter Arnett</ent>, a Pulitzer Prize-winning combat journalist, was reduced to reporting on
Noriega's alleged pornography collection. 'They [the
<ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent>] got away with it again,' <ent type='PERSON'>Arnett</ent> said of the initial
press blackout."
<ent type='PERSON'>Arnett</ent>, who covered the invasion for "<ent type='ORG'>CNN</ent>," was complaining
that <ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent> officials failed to provide photo opportunities
of wounded soldiers, suffering civilians and general bang-bang. Naturally the <ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent> did everything possible to
prevent such shots, keeping with its belief that the <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent>
War was lost in <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> living rooms. "Two things that
people should not watch are the making of sausage and the
making of war," "Newsday" (1/4/90) quoted an <ent type='ORG'>Air Force</ent> doctor
as saying. "All that front-page blood and <ent type='PERSON'>gore</ent> hurts the
military."
Experienced combat journalists like <ent type='PERSON'>Arnett</ent> should know that
the Pentagon's aim is to manipulate the pictures and stories
that get out. "If you just looked at television, the most
violent thing <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> troops did in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> was play rock
music," political media consultant <ent type='PERSON'>Robert Squier</ent> told
"Newsday." "They feel if they can control the pictures at the
outset, it doesn't make a damn what is said now or later."
Unhappiness with the <ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent> did not keep reporters from
promoting the US Army-approved image of <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> as a comic
strip arch-villain. <ent type='ORG'>The Southern</ent> Command told reporters soon
after the invasion that 110 pounds of cocaine were found in
Noriega's so-called "witch house," and this played big on TV
news and the front-pages. When, a month later the "cocaine"
turned out to be tamales ("<ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Post</ent>," 1/23/90, page
A22), the government's deception was a footnote at best. The
initial headlines of <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> as drug-crazed lunatic had served
their purpose: to convince the <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> people that he
represented a threat to the <ent type='ORG'>Canal</ent>.
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> Provocations of Pretexts?</p>

<p> The US media showed little curiosity about the Dec. 16 confrontation
that led to the death of a US <ent type='ORG'>Marine</ent> officer and the injury of another
when they tried to run a roadblock in front of the <ent type='ORG'>PDF</ent> headquarters.
The officers were supposedly "lost." In view of what is now known
about the intense pre-invasion preparations then underway ("NY Times,"
12/24/89), is it possible the <ent type='NORP'>Marines</ent> were actually trying to track
Noriega's whereabouts?
The <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian version of the event was that the US soldiers, upon
being discovered, opened fire--injuring three civilians, including a
child--and then tried to run the roadblock. This version was largely
ignored by US journalists even after the shooting two days later of a
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian corporal who "signaled a US serviceman to stop," according
to the administration. "The US serviceman felt threatened," the
administration claimed, after admitting that its earlier story that
the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian had pulled his gun was false ("<ent type='ORG'>NYT</ent>," 12/19/89)
As for the claim that a US officer had been roughly interrogated and
his wife had been sexually threatened, the administration provided no
supporting evidence ("<ent type='ORG'>NYT</ent>," 12/19/89; "Newsday," 12/18/89). Since
the Marine's death and the interrogation were repeatedly invoked to
justify the invasion, the lack of press scrutiny of these claims is
stunning.
For months, US forces had been trying to provoke confrontations as a
pretext for an attack. In response to an Aug. 11 incident, <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian
Foreign Minister <ent type='PERSON'>Jorge Ritter</ent> asked that a UN peacekeeping force be
dispatched to <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> to prevent such encounters. The US press largely
ignored his call ("El Diario/La Prensa," <ent type='ORG'>New York</ent>'s <ent type='NORP'>Spanish</ent>-language
daily, 8/13/89).</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________________
A Tale of Two Editions
| Fighting in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>The Home Front</ent> Fighting in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>The Home Front</ent>
___________________________________ __________________________________
The President The President
------------- -------------
| DOING THE INEVITABLE
------------ A SENSE OF INEVITABILITY
<ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> Reportedly Felt That <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> IN BUSH's DECISION TO ACT
'Was Thumbing His Nose at Him'
| If the news of the invasion wasn't favorable enough to the
administration, the "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent> Times" sometimes fine-tuned it
between editions. Above are headlines over the same story in two
editions on Dec. 24--the earlier one (left) was apparently changed
because it implied that the invasion was an act of personal
vengeance by <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>. Another headline in the same early edition read,
"U.S. Drafted Invasion Plan Weeks Ago," accurately describing the
article's evidence that the invasion was scheduled before the
"provocations" that justified it ever occurred. The headline
changed to the more innocuous "U.S. Invasion: Many Weeks of
Rehearsals."
|__________________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> The "Declaration of War" That Never Was</p>

<p> "When during the past few days [<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>] declared war on <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent>
States and some of his followers then killed a US <ent type='ORG'>Marine</ent>, roughed up
another <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> serviceman, also threatening that man's wife, strong
public support for a reprisal was all but guaranteed," <ent type='PERSON'>Ted Koppel</ent> told
his "Nightline" audience Dec. 20.
<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> never "declared war on <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States." The original
"<ent type='ORG'>Reuters</ent>" dispatches, published on the inside pages of the "<ent type='ORG'>New York</ent>
Times" (12/17-18/89), buried the supposed "declaration" in articles
dealing with other matters. In the Dec. 17 article headlined,
"Opposition Leader in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> Rejects a Peace Offer from <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>,"
"<ent type='ORG'>Reuters</ent>" quoted the general as saying that he would judiciously use
new powers granted to him by the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian parliament and that "the
<ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> scheme, through constant psychological and military
harassment, has created a state of war in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>." This statement of
fact aroused little excitement at the <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent>, which called the
parliament's move "a hollow step."
The day after the invasion, "<ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent> Times" <ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent>
correspondent <ent type='PERSON'>Melissa Healey</ent> told a call-in talk show audience on "C-<ent type='ORG'>SPAN</ent>" that <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> had "declared war" on <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States. When a
caller asked why that hadn't been front page news, <ent type='ORG'>Healey</ent> explained
that the declaration of war was one of a series of "incremental
escalations." When another caller pointed out that <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> had only
made a rhetorical statement that US economic and other measures had
created a state of war, the <ent type='ORG'>Pentagon</ent> correspondent confessed ignorance
of what had actually been said, and suggested that it was certainly
worth investigating.
The incident symbolizes media performance on the invasion--dispense
official information as gospel first, worry about the truth of that
information later. It's just what the <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> was counting on
from the media. The <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> team set out to control television and front
page news in the first days knowing that exposes of official deception
(such as Noriega's 110 pounds of "cocaine" that turned out to be
tamales) would not appear until weeks later buried on inside pages of
newspapers. Rulers do not require the total suppression of news. As
<ent type='PERSON'>Napoleon Bonaparte</ent> once said: It's sufficient to delay the news until
it no longer matters.
Besides uncritically dispensing huge quantities of official news and
views, the TV networks had another passion during the first days of
the invasion: polling their public. It was an insular process, with
predictable results. A "<ent type='ORG'>Toronto Globe</ent> and Mail" news story summarized
it (12/22/89): "Hardly a voice of objection is being heard within the
United States about the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> invasion, at least from those deemed as
official sources and thus likely to be seen on television or read in
the papers. Not surprisingly, given the media coverage, a television
poll taken yesterday by one network ("<ent type='ORG'>CNN</ent>") indicated that nine of
ten viewers approved of the invasion."</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
I'm not <ent type='ORG'>Rappaport</ent>...I'm Valdez
| "Extra!" usually complains about media outlets relying on
the same sources again and again, but "<ent type='ORG'>KTTV</ent>-TV" in <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent>
may have gone too far in the opposite direction.
Seeking a source to comment on the failed October 1989 coup
against Manuel <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>, the station called what they thought
was the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian consulate. In fact, it was the home of
Kurt <ent type='ORG'>Rappaport</ent>, a 22-year old prankster. <ent type='ORG'>Rappaport</ent>,
pretending to be an anti-<ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian diplomat, "Arturo
Valdez," was invited to be interviewed, and showed up at the
studio sporting a false moustache.
A sound bite from the 10-15 minute "Valdez" interview was
broadcast on "<ent type='ORG'>KTTV</ent>"'s evening news, phony <ent type='NORP'>Spanish</ent> accent and
all. ("LA Times," 10/7/89) But <ent type='ORG'>Rappaport</ent> was not treated
any differently than most TV experts: "I get asked tougher
questions when I go to cash a check," he told the "National
Enquirer."
|__________________________________________________________________|</p>

<p> __________________________________________________________________
<ent type='PERSON'>Swallowing Hokum</ent> in <ent type='LOC'>Central America</ent>
| During the height of the civil rights movement, <ent type='NORP'>Southern</ent>
authorities frequently reacted to the bombing of a black
church or a civil rights leader's home by blaming the act on
the <ent type='ORG'>Movement</ent>: "The <ent type='ORG'>Negroes</ent> did it themselves. It's a stunt
to win sympathy." While the innuendo that <ent type='PERSON'>Martin Luther King</ent>,
Jr. would have fire-bombed his own home while his children
slept was prominently and uncritically reported in <ent type='NORP'>Southern</ent>
dailies, journalists from national media ignored such hokum or
reported it as a way of highlighting how depraved or dishonest
the authorities were.
Ironically, the same absurd scenarios dismissed by
journalists when uttered by segregationists about <ent type='NORP'>Southern</ent>
blacks are treated as entirely credible when uttered by US
officials about Central <ent type='NORP'>Americans</ent>.
EXECUTION OF PRIESTS BY SALVADORAN SOLDIERS, Nov. 16, 1989:
Journalists knew instantly that the US-equipped <ent type='NORP'>Salvadoran</ent>
army, with a history of execution-style slayings, had control
of the Jesuit university grounds and that the martyred priests
had been outspoken advocates of seating the <ent type='ORG'>FMLN</ent> guerrillas at
the negotiating table. Yet when US officials played dumb,
pretending not to know whether the killers were "far rightists
or leftists," and when <ent type='NORP'>Salvadoran</ent> authorities asserted that
the <ent type='ORG'>FMLN</ent> had murdered their advocates, these statements
received credible coverage in some media. The fog was still
thick a month later when "Newsweek" reported (12/25/89) that
the priests had been murdered "by a presumed rightist death
squad." Through such phrases, centrist media obscure the fact
that the "rightist death squads" are an integral part of
Salvador's military structure. (See Amnesty International's
1988 report, "El <ent type='GPE'>Salvador</ent> 'Death Squads'--A Government
Strategy.")
MURDER OF <ent type='ORG'>NUNS</ent> BY <ent type='NORP'>NICARAGUAN</ent> <ent type='ORG'>CONTRAS</ent>, Jan. 1, 1990: Days
after the US relied largely on the death of a single US
citizen to justify its invasion of <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>, two nuns--one an
<ent type='NORP'>American</ent>--were killed when their pickup truck was ambushed in
northeastern <ent type='GPE'>Nicaragua</ent>. The attack occurred in an area in
which the contras--who have killed dozens of civilians in
recent months--were known to freely roam. Initial media
coverage gave play to Nicaragua's charges that the contras
were responsible and to contra claims that the Sandinistas had
impersonated contras killing the nuns.
By Day 2, the murders were not worthy of mention on "<ent type='ORG'>CBS</ent>"
and "<ent type='ORG'>ABC</ent>" nightly newscasts. By then <ent type='NORP'>Mexican</ent> and Latin
<ent type='NORP'>American</ent> press agencies had found two eye-witnesses who
identified the contras as the killers of the nuns. The story
took two weeks to break in the US and when it did, the
"<ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Post</ent>" broke it in a news story that read like a
<ent type='ORG'>White House</ent>-sanctioned editorial (1/14/90): "There was little
doubt that it was contra rebels who killed them. But there is
also little doubt that the US-backed guerrillas did not mean
to do it." "The <ent type='ORG'>Post</ent>" proceeded with an unsourced claim
reminiscent of the innuendo once aimed at <ent type='PERSON'>Martin Luther King</ent>:
"In <ent type='GPE'>Managua</ent>, the capital, some suspected immediately after the
attack that the Sandinistas might have staged it to appear to
be a contra ambush. After all, only the Sandinistas...could
benefit from such an atrocity."
By giving credence to claims which obscure the violence
caused by US-backed forces in <ent type='LOC'>Central America</ent>, some in the
national media seem to be impersonating the <ent type='NORP'>Southern</ent> cracker
reporters of 30 years ago.
|__________________________________________________________________|
</p>

<p>
*************************
POSTSCRIPT: July 4, 1990
*************************

As an indication of the on-going intent to obfuscate the true scope and impact
of US military activities in and results of the invasion, the following item
appeared in the July 4 issue of the "<ent type='ORG'>San Francisco Bay</ent> Guardian":
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. SOLDIERS <ent type='NORP'>HARASS</ent> U.S. FILM CREW IN <ent type='GPE'>PANAMA</ent></p>

<p> by <ent type='PERSON'>Jim Crogan</ent>
-------------</p>

<p> IN A <ent type='GPE'>PANAMA</ent>NIAN refugee camp last month, soldiers from the U.S.
<ent type='NORP'>Southern</ent> Command confronted a U.S. film crew that was interviewing
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian refugees. The soldiers attempted to stop the interviews
and confiscate the videotape and equipment. An estimated 500
residents of the camp surrounded and protected the crew and hid its
taped footage.
The crew, from <ent type='ORG'>Ronin Films</ent> (aka the <ent type='GPE'>Santa Monica</ent>-based Empowerment
Project) returned to <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent> this week.
<ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Trent</ent>, EP's co-director and the director and co-producer of
the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> film, told <ent type='ORG'>the Bay</ent> Guardian her crew's confrontation with
<ent type='NORP'>Southern</ent> Command military police and members of the U.S. Army Criminal
Investigations Division [CID] took place at the Allbrook Field
Displaced Persons Camp, a civilian war refugee facility administered
jointly by the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian Red Cross and the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian government's
Office of Disaster Assistance.
"The camp was exclusively a <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian facility, and we had
permission to be there from <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian disaster authorities, the Red
Cross and the council set up by the refugees to govern the camp, so I
didn't understand why SouthCom people were even there," said <ent type='PERSON'>Trent</ent>.
"The refugees saved the day for us," she added. "They got between us
and the military, surrounded us and eventually walked us over to the
office used by the Disaster Assistance people. They even hid our
tapes.
"The people wanted us there," <ent type='PERSON'>Trent</ent> continued, "because they
desperately wanted to tell the world about the losses they suffered
during the invasion, and the camp conditions they've been forced to
live under for the last six months."
During the incident, which she said her crew captured on film, the
CID people refused to explain to her or the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian officials why
or on whose authority they were trying to stop the filming.
Eventually, after a series of negotiations between the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians and
representatives from SouthCom, the EP crew finished its interviews and
left the camp.
Lt. Col. <ent type='PERSON'>Robert Donley</ent>, deputy director of public affairs for
SouthCom, said the MP's actions were "definitely wrong. They are
there only to assist the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nians and had no authority to
intervene."
Asked why <ent type='ORG'>Army CID</ent> officials were participating in trying to stop
the EP crew from filming, <ent type='ORG'>Donley</ent> said, "That's a good question. I
really don't know and haven't been able to find out why."
<ent type='PERSON'>Gary Meyer</ent>, co-director of EP and co-producer of the film, said the
crew also brought back several interviews that apparently describe the
U.S. use of laser weapons during last December's invasion. One
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian said he saw "a bright red light, which made a distinctive
sound that he repeated for us on camera, and was then followed by an
explosion," <ent type='ORG'>Meyer</ent> said. Another family said they had an intense white
light come through their apartment window and explode whatever object
it hit."
<ent type='PERSON'>Trent</ent> added that several people said they had seen "a <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian
soldier killed by a laser beam."
<ent type='PERSON'>Trent</ent> reported that she had questioned General <ent type='PERSON'>Maxwell</ent> Thurmond,
head of SouthCom, about the reports that laser weapons were used. "He
responded by saying that was crap, and that lasers were only used by
the U.S. <ent type='ORG'>Air Force</ent> to pinpoint targets," <ent type='PERSON'>Trent</ent> recalled.

</p></xml>