Cubadebate

February 27, 2004

It beggars the imagination that one of the principle perpetrators of terrorism on the planet should accuse one of its most peaceful neighbors of "state sponsored terrorism".

Yet that is what US President George W. Bush did on Thursday night in another bellicose attack on Cuba.

In language of psychological denial, Bush accused the Cuban government of sponsoring terrorism adding that Havana "has taken a series of steps to destabilize relations with the United States".

Prior to this absurd claim by the US President, the Mexican newspaper La Jornada earlier this week made the following commentary:

"The United States diplomatic representative in Havana, James Cason…has distinguished himself during his stay in Cuba by making a great effort to create a serious incident with Havana that would provide the pretext for military intervention. It is well-known publicly that since his arrival he has made his office and house customary meeting-places for the U.S. government's local servants dressed up as the anti-Castro opposition…It's clear that he acts according to instructions received from Washington."

So who is seeking to destabilize relations with whom?

The United States' foreign policy relies on force and coercion, exporting military attack and invasion, economic manipulation and strangulation. Any technical or "humanitarian" assistance offered by Washington comes at a heavy price and is used as a cudgel to ensure obedience. 

Cuba's foreign policy relies on attempts to integrate Latin American and Caribbean countries for their economic benefit, exporting doctors and nurses to improve the health of their peoples and providing technical assistance which is offered often free of charge and with no strings attached - including to governments that are hostile to Havana.

It is now generally understood that the current coup in Haiti was engineered once again by Washington. While Cuba has been in the forefront of seeking international intervention to prevent history repeating itself in the massacres of Haiti's recent past, George W. Bush has been quietly allowing men who were at the forefront of his father's sponsored campaign of terror during the 1991-94 coup against Aristide, to once again murder their way toward Port-au-Prince.

Who is then the sponsor of terrorism?

Walking the streets late at night in most inner cities of the USA involves terror. A government that uses state violence to solve its deep social problems has created a society of fear adding its repressive Patriot Acts and Homeland Security to an already dysfunctional nation of violence. US visitors to Cuba are astounded at the safety they feel on the island's streets. One of the freedoms that many people in the US lack and that Cubans enjoy is the simple freedom to walk down an inner city street at all hours without being molested.

So Bush, who protects the terrorists in Florida and their constant attacks on Cuba; whose father released Orlando Bosch, one of the worst terrorists in the hemisphere, to freely walk the streets of Miami, now points the finger of terrorism toward Havana?

With US state-sponsored terrorism both at home and abroad, there couldn't be more proof that the true terrorists in this hemisphere operate directly out of the White House.