Remembering Operation Just Cause

It was 17 years ago today, on December 20th, 1989, that Operation Just Cause was launched in Panama to apprehend the military leader Manuel Noriega. President George H. W. Bush outlined four main reasons for the invasion: 1) to protect American lives in Panama, 2) to defend democracy and human rights, 3) to combat drug trafficking, and 4) to protect the integrity of treaties that were signed during the Carter administration.

One Marine, Corporal Garreth C. Isaak, was killed during the operation.