An examination of the complex relationships between a U.S. combatant command, one of the four American global military headquarters, and its Washington, D.C. superiors, to include Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral William Crowe, Army Chief of Staff General Carl Vuono, Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, and Presidents Ronald W. Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Highlighted also are the roles played by the local joint and special operations headquarters, those U.S.-based commands charged with providing military reinforcements to the region, and those government officials responsible for regional diplomatic, intelligence, and economic affairs.

Bibliogr. p. 287-289. Includes maps of: Central and South America, 1989; Panama, 1989; Panama Canal Area, 1987-1989; Canal Area, Pacific Ocean Side, 1987-1989. Shipping list no.: 2009-0042-P. "First printing"--Title page verso. "First printing"--T.p. verso. "PIN:084336-00"--P. [4] of cover.

Foreword -- Author -- Preface -- 1: Making Of A Crisis, June 1987-February 1988 -- United States and Panama -- Noriega -- Crisis in Panama -- Southern command and the crisis -- 2: Operation Orders And Security Enhancement, February-April 1988 -- Contingency planning: elaborate maze -- Sanctions -- Phase v Joint Special Operations Task Force, and US Army, south -- Security enhancement -- Showdown in Washington -- Joint task force-Panama -- 3: Violence, "Fissures," And A Prayer Book, April-May 1988 -- Noriega perseveres -- First blood -- Deja vu -- Prayer book -- Fissures -- 4: Settling In, May 1988-January 1989 -- Woerner's critique and policy proposals -- Joint training -- Stage -- Rules of engagement -- Redeployment question -- Enter the XVIII Airborne Corps -- 5: Toward A Tougher Posture, February-April 1989 -- Woerner's woes -- Terror in Panama -- Tougher posture -- 6: Operation Nimrod Dancer, May 1989 -- Muse affair -- Preelection preparations -- Election -- Deployments -- Adjusting and adapting -- Harbinger: invasion of Fort Espinar -- 7: Asserting US Treaty Rights, May-June 1989 -- Triad and fissures II -- Reasserting treaty rights: convoys -- Sliding into something -- 8: Ratcheting Up, June-September 1989 -- Blade jewel and the prayer book -- Woerner's "retirement" -- Ratcheting up -- Alice, Beatrice, and the others -- 9: From Black Tuesday To Blue Spoon, October-December 1989 -- General Max Thurman -- Black Tuesday: the 3 October coup attempt -- Ramifications -- Operation order 1-90 and operation plan 90-2 -- Road to just cause -- 10: Conclusions -- Twilight zone -- Joint operations -- Personalities -- Bibliography -- Abbreviations and acronyms -- Index.