Just `Cause

It's riveting stuff, from the early recounting of U.S. acquisition of the Canal Zone (Teddy Roosevelt: "I took it") through Reagan's 1976 statement that, "We bought it. We paid for it. General Torrijos should be told that we're going to keep it."

In the end, the conclusion is inescapable. To quote U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D A New York): "I have studied everything the president has said as to the reasons why he ordered the invasion, and none of those things, singly or collectively, makes any legal, moral, or constitutional sense." To view The Panama Deception is to share his anger, disillusionment, and shame.