One of America’s “friends” that became an enemy after their usefulness was gone….Noriega joins the likes of Saddam in this category.
After the US invasion and the capture of Noriega the story turned to his “crimes” and not much was mentioned about the work he did for the US, especially the CIA……
The mainstream media’s obituaries for Gen. Manuel Noriega missed the real story: the U.S. government’s rank hypocrisy in justifying a bloody invasion that deepened Panama’s role in the drug trade.
The death of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on May 29 elicited few if any tears. But it should have sparked more reflection in the United States on his ugly history of service to the CIA, the hypocrisy of Washington’s sudden discovery of his abuses once Noriega became an unreliable ally against the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, and the George H.W. Bush administration’s bloody and illegal invasion of Panama in December 1989.
In fairness, many progressives and mainstream journalists have called attention to this troublesome history over the years. But few have dared to question the nearly universal condemnation of Noriega as a protector of international drug traffickers. That incendiary claim — first broadcast loudly by the unlikely trio of right-wing Sen. Jesse Helms, R-North Carolina; liberal Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts; and investigative journalist Seymour Hersh — galvanized the American public to support his ouster.
Source: Missing the Real Noriega Story – Consortiumnews
Interesting how we Americans seldom know the “real” story until after the fact on so many of our country’s decisions….Noriega and Saddam are two of those stories.
In Saner Thought 
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
How America works ‘behind the scenes’ … let this be the beginning of the lessons of history … 🇵🇦
I appreciate the re-blog….hugz….chuq
Most welcome!! 🙏🏽
Hugs back! ❤️
Act first, and find out the truth later, if at all.
That sounds about right…
Regards, Pete.
Sounds like the American way…huh? chuq
Well, now.. before we get too hasty here perhaps we should explore this a bit. “They” passed a law saying that our covert agencies could not do political assassinations to topple governments. So.. perhaps Bush hit on something here. We don’t do it covertly… we do it overtly. Like we went into Panama to grab Noriega.. we should also just go into Syria and grab Assad. Then go into Russia, have the IMF force (not the International Monetary Fund) pin a note on his pajamas one night when he is asleep in bed saying, “We are watching you, asshole.”… just to shake him up a bit.
Then we send the Marines into Iran to grab the Ayatollah. We should topple more governments. Make them all respect us. In fact, I’m going to write a letter to Trump right now.
I must have tried to engage in too much political ideation today; it’s all beginning to sound, upon historical reflection, with an eye toward irony, like a really bad episode of The Days of Our Lives….
But maybe that’s just me….
Oh, & don’t bother writing to Trump; if what you wrote today is any example, he couldn’t read it, & would toss it aside, pretending it didn’t interest him.
gigoid, the dubious