By 1989, it had become apparent to all — everyone except the CIA, of course — that the Soviet economy, and thus the Soviet state was in very deep trouble. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down in the face of Soviet impotence. And, with the Cold-War corpse not even cold yet, the US used the newly apparent Soviet weakness as an opportunity to begin invading a variety of foreign countries. These included Iraq, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia. But first on the list was Panama in December 1989. At the time, the Panamanian state was an authoritarian regime that … Continue reading How 1989’s Invasion of Panama Set the Stage for 25 Years of Endless War