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428080459
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Telephone Conversation with Prime Minister Mulroney of Canada, December 20, 1989
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doc
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document
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1
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id
428080459
contentType
document
title
Telephone Conversation with Prime Minister Mulroney of Canada, December 20, 1989
citationUrl
collections
Records of the National Security Council (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Presidential Telcon Files
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Canada
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428080459
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20
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1989-12-20
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12
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1989
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nara-archive
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1
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985b45a5c756bbe0
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CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIGENTIAL
10249 +10285
version:
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
DECLASSIFIED
PER E.O. 12958,
AS AMENDED
2000-0429-F
MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
zr 8/21/09
SUBJECT:
Telephone Conversation with Prime Minister
Mulroney of Canada (U)
PARTICIPANTS:
The President
Brian Mulroney
Notetaker: David Pacelli
DATE, TIME
December 20, 1989, 2:52 - 3:00 a.m. EST
AND PLACE:
The Oval Office
The President: Brian. (U)
Prime Minister Mulroney: Yes, George. (U)
The President: I hate to call you at such an hour. I want to
tell you about our operations in Panama. I'm sure that you have
heard of them. (f)
As you know, we have done this after having made a concerted
effort to try to work things out bilaterally and diplomatically,
working with the Central Americans and the South Americans, all
of whom were outraged by Noriega's behavior.
(C)
The reason for our actions are the declaration of war that was
made, the killing of a Marine officer, and the sexual harassment
of a Navy lieutenant's wife. And that incident moved me as much
as anything else. I just couldn't tolerate any longer these type
of incidents and the threats to innocent American lives. We have
to get Noriega out. And we hope to promote the institutions of a
democratic government. (c)
At 12 o'clock, Endara took the oath of office from a Panamanian
magistrate, and Calderon and Ford were sworn in as Vice
Presidents. They went on the air to ask the PDF not to fight and
to ask the PDF to support democracy. (C)
We have recognized the Endara government. We want to help Panama
restore democracy. There are lots of U.S. forces in there now.
The fate of Noriega is uncertain. He has been reported in two
places, in the city and in the countryside. ()
CONF IDENTIAL
Declassify on: OADR
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
2
There are lots of indications that the PDF does not want to
fight. They also liberated a prison which contained 47 PDF
officers who were imprisoned by Noriega after the last coup.
They were delighted. They were PDF officers and they were
delighted. And there is strong support from the people.
There has been some loss of life for the United States and among
Panamanians. Fortunately, the numbers are low. And I hope they
stay low. (L)
So that is the state of play at the moment. I hope that down the
line, you will recognize Endara. It is our intention to bring
home the additional forces we sent down there as soon as we can.
(f)
Prime Minister Mulroney: How many are down there? (f)
The President: In total? About 18,000. There were 12,000 in
the Southern Command and about 6,000 in reinforcements. We sent
airborne forces, and I am told that the situation is under
control. Most of the PDF recognize this and say it is over.
They are pulling back and laying down their arms. I hope before
long it will be over, without much loss of life.
(C)
Prime Minister Mulroney: I could tell that something was going
to happen earlier tonight. I recognized that the killing of the
Marine and the harassment of the wife is something that you would
have to respond to. (C)
The President: I hate to send in kids to fight. But I worried
about what happens in future incidents. There are special rights
of the United States under the treaty. There was the attack on
the Marines, and a number of other incidents. Nevertheless, with
the killing of the Marine lieutenant, I hope the Canadian people
understand, and how hard we tried diplomacy.
(c)
Prime Minister Mulroney: We wish you well. We will be in the
House of Commons tomorrow morning to answer questions and we will
explain things to the Canadian people.
(d)
The President: If there are any facts you need, we will be
delighted to provide them. To direct our boys to go down there
is a tough thing to do. But the military commanders fully
supported it. This was not a macho use of force. But they had
worked out contingency plans and I am told that Colin Powell is
quite pleased. (c)
Prime Minister Mulroney: I certainly hope there is no further
loss of life by the U.S. military. (L)
The President: There have been 5 or 6 American military killed
so far, and 12 PDF. At last report, the Commandancia was on
fire. One U.S. citizen, Kurt Muse, was being held in prison
without charges, and one part of the operations was to free him.
CONF IDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
3
That has taken place and he has been freed. Forty-seven PDF
prisoners were freed. They were being held after the coup
attempt. This will help with the PDF because in this body are
many officers who are respected.
(C)
Prime Minister Mulroney: Well, good luck on this. Good luck to
you. We will be at the other end of the phone if you should need
me. God bless and goodbye.
(f)
The President: Thank you and goodbye. (U)
CONF IDENTIAL