Debate and Diplomacy


 To give it away or not

"How could such a good cause get into so much trouble? The Panama Canal treaty, which gradually cedes U.S control over the waterway to Panama by the year 2000, is nothing if not reasonable and conciliatory. It is a common-sense solution to a nagging, decades-old problem - one that has damaged U.S relations not with an enemy but with a relatively good neighbor. Yet opposition has grown so intense that while the treaty is expected to be approved by a plebiscite in Panama this week, it is still in considerable trouble in the U.S Senate."
- Time Essay: That Troublesome Panama Canal Treaty - Edwin Warner, Monday Oct 31, 1977
"It provides that the President has authority to make treaties by seeking the Senate's advise and those treaties become binding when approved by two-thirds of the Senate" -  Source: http://www.articleii.org/chief_diplomat.html
"This is not a partisan issue and the treaties are strongly backed by President Gerald Ford..." - Source: President Carter

Timeline of Events (click on the pictures for details)

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Consequences