-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! Poll: Most Americans Oppose Panama Canal Turnover, Fear Chinese Control NewsMax.com December 22, 1999 Most Americans oppose the transfer of the Panama Canal, officially slated for Dec. 31, and fear Chinese influence over the strategic waterway. In a NewsMax.com/Zogby International poll released today, nearly 50 percent of Americans polled oppose the turnover of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government. Only 29 percent of respondents thought turning the canal over to the government of Panama was a good idea. The NewsMax.com/Zogby poll also found that Americans are deeply worried that a Chinese-controlled company, Hutchison Whampoa, will control and operate the canal and its facilities. A majority, 58 percent, agreed that Hutchison Whampoa's influence over the canal "threatens U.S. national security." The survey — which sampled the opinions of 1,005 registered voters last week — indicated Americans are far more concerned about the Panama Canal than official Washington or the media pretend to be. Administration officials, however, may have quietly done their own polling and also discovered voters are not so happy about the canal transfer. When Panamanian and U.S. officials held a ceremony on Dec. 14 in Panama marking the turnover, Panamanian officials openly expressed disappointment that no ranking American official — President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Madeleine Albright, or any Cabinet member for that matter — bothered to show. Former President Jimmy Carter, who shepherded the 1977 treaty that led to the transfer of the canal, led the U.S. delegation to the ceremony. Critics of the transfer have cited increasing concerns about the military dangers posed by the American withdrawal. Panamanian polls show that the citizens there wish the United States had not withdrawn, and have voiced concerns that Marxist guerrillas in Colombia, backed by Cuba and China, have been making incursions into Panama's southern provinces. Panama has no standing army. American groups have also expressed fears that Hutchison Whampoa, a company with close ties to China's military and intelligence agencies, will have de facto control of the canal. Adm. Thomas Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has testified before Congress that by turning over the canal, the United States may lose critical time in deploying forces if war erupts in Korea, Taiwan or elsewhere in the world. Howard Phillips, chairman of the Conservative Caucus, a group that has been spearheading efforts to maintain U.S. control of the canal, said that it is "in the common interest of both the United States and Panama to restore a U.S. military presence in Panama." Phillips is calling on Congress to intervene and force Hutchison Whampoa's contract for the canal to be revoked, and for U.S. troops to be permanently stationed there. NEWSMAX.COM/ZOGBY POLL Question: On Dec. 31, 1999, the Panama Canal will be turned over to the government of Panama. Do you think . . . ? 1. The United States should remain in control of the canal — 49 percent 2. Panama should take possession of the canal — 29 percent 3. Neither — 10 percent 4. Not sure — 12 percent. Question: A Chinese company will control and operate the Panama Canal. Do you think . . . ? 1. This threatens U.S. national security — 58 percent 2. Does not threaten U.S. national security — 31 percent 3. Not sure — 12 percent. **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
