R. Cody Phillips
Special Publications
CMH Pub 70-85-1, Paper
2004; 50 pages,
illustrations, maps
GPO S/N: 008-029-00391-1
Operation JUST CAUSE, one of the shortest armed conflicts in American
military history, is also one of the most relevant to irregular
missions facing today's soldiers. R. Cody Phillips in trenchant prose
discusses the extraordinarily complex U.S. military intervention into
Panama in December 1989, covering the strategic setting and salient
operational details and concluding with a summary and analysis. On 15
December Panamanian dictator General Manuel Antonio Noriega, already
under indictment for international drug trafficking, announced a state
of war with the United States. Given the threat not only to U.S.
citizens in Panama but also to larger U.S. interests and Canal Zone
security, the United States Army took appropriate countermeasures by
rapidly deploying thousands of personnel and equipment from distant
military installations and then striking with surgical precision and
decisive maneuver almost two-dozen objectives within a two-day period.
Phillips's compelling story with useful lessons is a tribute to all
soldiers, a recognition of the initiative, discipline, training, and
esprit de corps they consistently demonstrate while serving their
nation in both military and peace operations.