21 years ago today, George H. Bush ordered the US army to invade the small Central American country of Panama. The ostensible reason for the invasion was Panamaâs leader, Manuel Noriegaâs drug dealing and election fraud in 1988. But it would hardly be the first time that elections were fudged in a Central American country and, of course, General Noriega had connections deep inside the CIAâfor a long while he was a CIA asset, in fact. And he had allies in both the Drug Enforcement Agency and the State departmentâhis drug dealing was well known within the intelligence community and had been for years.