If you enjoy writing your congressman to complain about black helicopters, you'll love the Panama Deception.<br /><br />Though this movie did a masterful job of deceiving the Motion Picture Academy and many of those who viewed the film, the film is nothing more than an anti-American propaganda piece. The claims of mass civilian killings have crumbled under the slightest scrutiny, and the premise of the film is widely rejected not only by Americans familiar with the decision making process involved in choosing to invade the country, but by every Panamanian national I've ever met - regardless of socioeconomic status.<br /><br />I travel regularly to Panama and have had the fortune to develop strong relationships with Panamanian nationals. After hundreds of conversations and interaction in virtually every facet of daily life with Panamanians, I've yet to encounter a hint of regret for the U.S. invasion. The truth is that Panama labored under a dictator whose thirst for power and disregard for political dissent grew to an unacceptably dangerous point.<br /><br />But even if your politics won't permit you to agree with my comments above, you would acquit yourself well to ask why the U.S. honored the Panama Canal Treaties and handed over full control of the Canal in 1999. The central premise of The Panama Deception is that the U.S. sought to destroy the Panama Defense Forces in order to thwart handover of the Canal to Panama in accordance with the treaties signed by President Carter in the late 1970s. And yet, the U.S. closed its military bases, and today Panama is one of the most robust democracies in the Western Hemisphere and operates the Canal in sovereign fashion.