Panama Canal Defense Exercise Begins http://endthelie.com/2011/08/16/panama-canal-defense-exercise-begins/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EndTheLie+%28End+the+Lie%29&utm_content=FeedBurner#axzz1VRoiPA9G

One of the world’s largest multinational military exercises gets under way today to test plans to defend the Panama Canal.Some 3,500 military and civilian personnel from 17 countries are participating in the 12-day exercise dubbed PANAMAX 2011, U.S. Southern Command officials said.Co-sponsored by Southcom and the Panamanian government, PANAMAX is a joint, combined operation focused on defending one of the world’s most strategic and economically crucial waterways for global trade, officials said.This year’s exercise focuses on building the interoperability and capacity that would be necessary to defend the canal in the event of a threat, Southcom spokesman Jose Ruiz said.

[ALSO SEE...U.S. Aid to Panama, All Programs, 2007-2012 http://justf.org/Country?country=Panama