Panama: Military Victory, Interagency Failure: A Case Study of Policy Implementation

Abstract

This monograph examines the question of interagency action at the operational level by analyzing the case of Panama from 1987 to 1990. It asks the question: Does the United States have the ability to integrate the actions of Federal Agencies at the operational, or campaign level? The basic criteria used for evaluation of effectiveness are objective focus, unity of effort, and responsiveness. The research considers the theories explaining why large organizations fad to achieve effective implementation. Three basic schools of thought are identified: the Rational Actor theory; the Organizational Theory; the Bureaucratic theory. The monograph shows the applicability of the case and makes the point that there are still problems in integrating agency operations. The case study identifies problems of integration during the three major periods of the Panama crisis. Specifically, the study finds evidence that actions were not successfully integrated because of problems which were explicable under the three theories. The research reaches the conclusion that the United States does not have an effective system for integrating interagency operations. Panama, Just cause, Woerner, Crowe, Interagency, Noriega, Shultz

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 17, 1993
Accession Number
ADA284712

Entities

People

  • Charles W. Robinson

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Economic Sanctions
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Group Dynamics
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Policy
  • Recreation
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • United States Southern Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Theoretical Analysis.
  • Urban Planning and Geography.