protect the canal's neutrality by guarding it from political corruption and mismanagement. The economy is also at risk with unemployment rates at 13% and the closing of U.S. military bases, which may raise that even higher. The security of the Panamanian-controlled canal is a major concern for both Moscoso and the United Sates, who has the right to defend the canal with military force under the Treaty On the Permanent Neutrality of the canal, but only if canal operations are jeopardized. On southern border regions of Columbia are leftist guerrillas, one of the most dangerous security threat to the undeveloped democracy. The Darian region of the Colombian rain forest, very close to the border, is a well-known supply and rest area for guerrillas and the Colombian paramilitary is slowly forcing them out of the forest and sometimes over the Panamanian border. The risk of submarine attacks has pushed the government to consider spending $12 million on the restoration of a second-world-war anti-torpedo dam. The nation's army was dissolved following the 1989 U.S. invasion to unseat military strongman Manuel Noriega. The country since has relied on a national police force, currently 18,000 strong. A poll of 1,200 Panamanians by the La Prensa newspaper showed 70 percent believe Panama is not capable of defending the strategic waterway. More than 72 percent said Panama needs the United States to protect the canal and 68 percent opposed the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Authorities, however, have insisted that Panama is ready to defend the canal without the U.S. military, which had maintained a presence here since 1903 when the country became independent of Colombia.A more serious problem facing the United States is the loss of U.S. military bases, which served as headquarters for U.S. drug-fighting efforts in the region. About 2,000 planes a year took off from Howard Air Force Base to hunt out drug labs and mysterious landing strips in Cen...
