In 1989, the U.S. launched a swift and controversial invasion of Panama to secure the canal and remove dictator Manuel Noriega. Operation Just Cause was a display of power with deep political and ...

JUST CAUSE, a short-lived but complex operation, would be the first test of joint operational planning and execution called for by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986.

At the time, Operation Just Cause was the largest and most complex combat operation since the Vietnam War. Nearly 26,000 combat troops deployed, with just under half being from bases in the United ...