Today in Manhunting History -- December 17, 1989: The Decision to Hunt Noriega

The evening after Manuel Noriega's declaration of war, four U.S. officers took a wrong turn in Panama City and approached a checkpoint at the Comandancia, headquarters of the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF). Guards brandishing AK-47s stopped the car and tried to drag the Americans from the car. The driver hit the gas pedal and, as the car sped away, the PDF opened fire. Two Americans were hit, 24-year old Marine Corps Lieutenant Roberto Paz in the spine. The driver raced to Gorgas Army Community Hospital, but the emergency room doctors were unable to save Paz.

The Paz shooting was witnessed by an American naval officer and his wife, who had been stopped at the same checkpoint about a half-hour earlier. They were subsequently blindfolded with masking tape, put in a pickup truck, and driven to an unknown location. For the next four hours the lieutenant was severely beaten – repeatedly kicked in the head and groin – as his wife was forced to watch. The PDF soldiers threw her against a wall and threatened to rape her. Finally, at about 1AM, December 17, the Panamanians gave up and released the couple three blocks from the Comandancia.

Although U.S. commanders had previously not considered Noriega worth expending American lives to depose, these events erased any doubts within the military regarding the advisability of using force.

Sunday, December 17, 1989 was supposed to be a day of celebration at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The halls of the White House were festively decked as President George H.W. Bush entertained old friends and family at one of the Bushes’ numerous Christmas parties. The normally reserved President embodied the holiday spirit by accessorizing his blue blazer and gray slacks with gaudy, bright red socks, one emblazoned with the word “Merry,” the other with “Christmas.” At 2PM, as carolers in 18th-century costume entertained the guests, Bush politely excused himself and headed upstairs to the second-floor residence.

Bush was met there in his office by his “War Council”: Secretary of State James Baker; Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell and his operations officer Lieutenant General Tom Kelly; National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gates; and Vice President Dan Quayle. They rose while the President took a seat beneath the large oil painting “The Peacemakers,” depicting Lincoln and with his top military leaders near the end of the Civil War.

Perhaps no man has entered the presidency as experienced in foreign affairs as George H.W. Bush. A decorated fighter pilot in World War II, he had served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Ambassador to China, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and as Vice President for eight years. At the outset of the war council, President Bush said: “Look, here are my objectives. I want to get Noriega.” He asked whether a large troop deployment was necessary instead of a smaller commando raid to apprehend the dictator. Powell explained that Noriega had been trained as an intelligence officer and was extraordinarily skilled at hiding. He rarely slept in the same location on consecutive nights, and traveled in as many as seven identical limousines. Despite the efforts of an elite tracking team, General Thurman said SOUTHCOM only knew his whereabouts perhaps 80 percent of the time and could not reliably predict where he would appear next. Consequently, Powell could offer no assurance that a covert operation to kidnap or arrest Noriega would be successful. Worse, if the U.S. military went after Noriega and missed, the lives of every American in the Canal Zone would be in jeopardy. Even if they did nab Noriega his loyalists within the PDF might target Americans in retribution or seeking an exchange.

Consequently, Powell presented General Thurman’s preferred option: to use massive force to overwhelm and demolish the PDF. This would minimize the time available for the PDF to seize U.S. citizens as hostages. Even if Noriega escaped at H-Hour, he would have no forces to command. “Wherever he is,” Powell told the President, “he won’t be El Jefe. He won’t be able to show his face.” Bush probed Powell and Kelly, asking hard and detailed questions on the myriad diplomatic and logistical details of the proposed military action. Finally, Powell concluded: “My recommendation is that we go with the full [invasion] plan. I can tell you that the chiefs agree with me to a man.”

Cheney concurred: “I support what the Chairman just recommended to you.”

Baker told Bush, “I think we ought to go,” and Scowcroft agreed the time for diplomacy had passed.

The President sat pensively, his chin resting on his chest, chewing his lower lip. Noriega, he said finally, “is not going to lay off. It will only get worse.”

At 3:50PM, he gripped the arms of his chair and rose to his feet. “Okay, let’s do it,” he quietly said. “The hell with it!”

The execute order was given for an operation involving 23,000 U.S forces – including the 13.000 already stationed in Panama – to invade and remove Noriega from power.

President George H.W. Bush and his national security team (during the Gulf War).