WORLD : Noriega Called Too Busy to Fight
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WASHINGTON — Deposed ruler Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega never supervised armed resistance to the U.S. invasion of Panama because he was “too busy trying to save his own skin,” the Pentagon said today.
“It is clear that Noriega was never in command of the PDF (Panama Defense Forces) during the battle, because he was too busy trying to save his own skin and was moving around constantly,” spokesman Pete Williams told a news briefing.
Williams, who accompanied Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney on a Christmas visit to the invasion force, quoted a Noriega bodyguard who turned himself in to U.S. authorities as saying Noriega got no rest with U.S. troops constantly on his tail.
“When he finally got to the Vatican’s embassy there in Panama City he was said to be so exhausted from the chase that he could barely speak,” Williams said.
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