[zechariah]

like Carter giving away the Panama Canal!!!

Have you been to Panama and seen the canal?

Sure, I mean, it is kinda cool in a touristy kind of way--you know, marvel of 19th century engineering and all that--but why would we want to keep it?

[z]

[SierraWasp]

1. Because our Great Grandfathers tax dollars built it

2. Because we owned it

3. Because it's strategic

4. Because we're the arrogant capitalist pigs of the planet and we should stay that way

5. Because I hope that answer (#4, above) offends the heck out of you for asking such a sucky question!!!

[Bogey78O]

Without it any ship traversing from the Pacific to the Atlantic or vice versa needs to go around an entire continent.

[SierraWasp]

Plus... What's up with this putrid poetry on your home page?

"Swear allegiance to the flag Whatever flag they offer"

[Bonaparte]

"...but why would we want to keep it?"

All our east coast/Gulf shipping to/from the Pacific and Asia goes through there. It's a potential choke point for some serious US commerce. Some of us are more than a little nervous that the ChiComs now have the lease on it. Also, it gives the ChiComs a base of operations right in our own hemisphere perfectly positioned right by Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, etc. They can and probably will cause a lot of mischief in the coming years. It was a very sad day when Carter put the canal up for grabs. But then almost every day of Carter's administration was sad, the exception being the day he lost to the Gipper and the day he left office as a failed, one-term president.