>>>Now that was a silly and uninformed statement. :o) I was stationed in Germany for 3 years, Panama for a couple, ( and a lot of other places I won't mention). Is Germany part of the American empire? Is Panama? Why were American forces in Germany? Do you even know? Every service member stationed there had to know. Why are American service members in South Korea? Why were American service members sent to the Sinai? There are American service member in many places and in most cases it is by invitation of the host government. Why are there American bases in England or British territories?
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>>I think Panama is an excellent example to show what Nick is saying, as there would be no Panama if it were not for the US interests for a strategic location.
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>Quite true. I would be part of Columbia, have no canal and probably very little else. (except perhaps malaria ) Imperialism does have an up-side for the Imperialized. Suez Canal, Panama Canal, India's rail system and government etc. English and American colonies didn't do badly and for the most part didn't have to do a whole lot to throw us out. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Belgian, German, Dutch ... not so much.

I would have missed Just Cause and Rio Hato. :o) One of the most surprising experiences was seeing Rio Hato during the exciting times and then seeing it as a visitor (more or less) a year later. :o) Seriously though, after it quieted down, I really enjoyed some places in Panama and I still consider it one of the most beautiful places on earth. El Valle (even without hot water), Bocas Del Toro, Boquete (regardless of who owned the hotel), Chiriqui, the canal, Gatun, Penonome, Taboga Island, Santiago, David... now if I could have just avoided Colon it would have been perfect. :o) (That was a very short and very exciting time but most of the good times are :o)

BTW, I LOVED your last sentence in this post :o) (I accidentally snipped it)