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Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama PDF

277 Pages·2003·1.862 MB·English
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EMPERORS IN THE JUNGLE american encounters / global interactions A Series Edited by Gilbert M. Joseph and Emily S. Rosenberg This series aims to stimulate critical perspectives and fresh interpretive frameworks for scholarship on the history of the imposing global pres- ence of the United States. Its primary concerns include the deployment and contestation of power, the construction and deconstruction of cul- tural and political borders, the fluid meanings of intercultural encoun- ters, and the complex interplay between the global and the local. Ameri- can Encounters seeks to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between historians of U.S. international relations and area studies specialists. The series encourages scholarship based on multiarchival historical research. At the same time, it supports a recognition of the representa- tional character of all stories about the past and promotes critical in- quiry into issues of subjectivity and narrative. In the process, American Encounters strives to understand the context in which meanings related to nations, cultures, and political economy are continually produced, challenged, and reshaped. JOHN LINDSAY-POLAND EMPERORS IN THE JUNGLE THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE U.S. IN PANAMA Duke University Press Durham and London 2003 ∫ 2003 Duke University Press All right reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper $ Designed by C. H. Westmoreland Typeset in Sabon with Gill Sans display by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book To those who seek the truth. May their curiosity and vision be strong. CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 A Platform for Control: Interventions and Army Doctors, 1856–1925 11 2 ‘‘Test Tube Island’’ 44 3 The Nuclear Canal 74 4 Playing the Drug Card 103 5 The Politics of Environmental Cover-up 138 6 Market Mania 172 7 Continuity and Change in the Military’s Vision 191 Afterword: Knowing Ourselves Exhortation to Read a Friendly Text by Guillermo Castro H. 207 Notes 211 Index 253 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book is borne on the contributions of many individuals whom I can never adequately thank. More than that, it would not have been possible without the dedication of many people to social movements that seek the truth about the past and justice in the future. In that respect, I am grateful to the many organizations in Panama with whom I had the fortune to collaborate, and to the Fellowship of Reconcilia- tion, which gave me the opportunity to work on Panama for more than a decade. For teaching me about Panama, I thank Orlando Acosta, Jesús Alemancia, Mariela Arce, Olier Avila, Ramiro Castrejon, Marco Gan- dásegui, Jaime Espinoza González, Arturo Griffiths, Sayda de Gri- maldo, Tomás Guardia, Raúl Leis, Fernando Manfredo Jr., Gonzalo Menéndez, Juan Méndez, Rodrigo Noriega, Conrado Sanjur, Walter Smith, Nicolasa Terreros, and Lamoin Werlein-Jaén. I am thankful to the many people who spoke with me about the U.S. military and Panama, many of whom are cited in this book, and some of whom preferred to withhold their names. Researchers rely profoundly on reference librarians. I am indebted to the staff of the San Francisco Public Library, U.S. Army History Institute, and Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, and to Martin Gor- don of the Army Corps of Engineers Archives, Richard Boylan of the National Archives, Steve Wofford of the Livermore Laboratory archives, and Bryan Stoneburner of the Naval Postgraduate School Library. For help in obtaining important documents and articles, I am grate- ful to Fernando Eleta Casanova, Henry Heitman, Eric Jackson, Betty Brannan Jaén, Rafael Pérez Jaramillo, Nick Morgan, Henry Raymont, Craig Reinarman, Juan Antonio Samudio, Nathan and Joy Schnur- man, Lenny Siegel, and Rick Stauber. Rick and I formed an unusual alliance—an explosives expert and a pacifist—in the quest for U.S. accountability for ordnance left behind in Panama. Neil Popovic gave legal assistance with Freedom of Information Act (foia) requests that yielded significant new information. On the receiving end of foia

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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.