ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the basic questions that faced each president from Eisenhower to Carter: What Canal policy would best serve United States (US) interests? Should Canal policy be changed? It analyzes the types of control the United States sought to exercise over a canal in Panama from 1903 to 1972. The chapter considers the merits and risks of the new partnership envisioned in the 1977 treaties from the viewpoints of supporters and opponents. The foregoing analysis of the different types of control systems that the United States was willing to accept has demonstrated the large degree of change the 1977 Canal treaties represent. The new treaties were designed to ensure continued US access to the Canal through incentives rewarding Panamanian cooperation rather than a permanent US presence in the Canal Zone. EiFective control over Canal administration and defense would continue to be exercised by the United States with some "token" sharing of control with Panama.
