Powell aide blasts policy on Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sun, May. 09, 2004

CUBA

Powell aide blasts policy on Cuba
BY LESLEY CLARK

[e-mail]

As the White House last week prepared to put its stamp of approval on a range of Cuba sanctions recommended by Colin Powell, a senior aide to the secretary of state was quoted as calling the decades old-standoff against the communist island, the ``dumbest policy on the face of the Earth.''
(snip)

''When all you use is a stick, you're not going to get very far,'' Wilkerson said in the article, suggesting that with negotiations 'you can make more progress than if you just sanction somebody and walk off and say, `That's it, I'm not dealing with you anymore.' ''

''It hasn't worked in Cuba for 40 years,'' Hylton said.
(snip)

''Dumbest policy on the face of the Earth,'' Wilkerson is quoted as saying. ``It's crazy.''
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/8623634.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Bush Proposes a Plan to Aid Opponents of Castro in Cuba

Bush Proposes a Plan to Aid Opponents of Castro in Cuba
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS

Published: May 7, 2004

United States International Relations


WASHINGTON, May 6 - President Bush announced a plan on Thursday to use military aircraft to help American broadcasters reach Cuba and to increase sharply the money for Cuban critics of the government of President Fidel Castro.
(snip)

Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and the ranking member of the Finance Committee, said the new plan amounted to a misuse of taxpayer money.

"At a time when the United States faces very real terrorist threats in the Middle East and elsewhere, the administration's absurd and increasingly bizarre obsession with Cuba is more than just a shame, it's a dangerous diversion from reality," Mr. Baucus said.
(snip)

But critics countered that the Treasury Department, which enforces economic sanctions, is already spending an inordinate amount of time on Cuba, largely in response to domestic political pressure. Of the 120 employees at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Senator Baucus said, 21 are dedicated to enforcing the Cuba embargo and only 4 to tracking the finances of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.
(snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/07/politics/07cuba.html
(Free registration required)

[0007]

10. This is like a comedy, something like ...

"The gang who couldn't Shoot Straigh"

"The Treasury Department, which enforces economic sanctions, is already spending an inordinate amount of time on Cuba, largely in response to domestic political pressure. Of the 120 employees at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Senator Baucus said, 21 are dedicated to enforcing the Cuba embargo and only 4 to tracking the finances of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein."

Wow!! The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) has indeed got some juice, 'eh?

Where's that terrorist Orlando Borsch hanging out now a days, 'eh?

[Mika]

2. The standoff reaps campaign cash

The US standoff against reaps campaign cash for politicians of all flavors, both pro and anti Cuba embargo politicians stuff their pockets with campaign cash.


It will continue until we Dems demand that our representatives end this corruption and normalize relations with Cuba & end the US's Cuban Adjustment Act.

[othermeans]

3. Why is it that.....

we continue to trade with China and try to develop ties with Vietnam in the interest of normalizing relations and we can't get along with a country in our own backyard?

If I could be allowed to answer my own question it is because Castro has gotten by without us since 1959 and it pisses everybody off.

[Judi Lynn]

4. The embargo was expected to crush Cuba. Didn't happen. Yet.

Former head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Wayne S. Smith says:

I've been involved in this since 1957, and I've observed
that Cuba has the same effect on the United States that a full
moon has on werewolves."

http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/janmar96/mar0496/04cuba.html

[swinney]

5. Casro blew big chance under Clinton

Clinton was enroute to lifting sanctions, opening visites, etc when planes were shot down.

[Mika]

6. Really?

I guess that the government of Cuba should have allowed over flights of Basulto's US funded organization. The Cuban government warned the US government on many occasions that the US must take action against these US launched illegal flights that were in violation of US law, let alone in violation of internationally recognized air traffic laws.

Some of the over flights by Brother to the Rescue planes included strafing the beaches with semi auto rifles, dropping molotov cocktails on buildings, in addition to dropping leaflets over various parts of Cuba.

Remember, the US has declared itself to be the enemy of the Cuban government and has continually funded documented maimicuban exile terrorist excursions into Cuba.

After dozens of warnings the US government still had done nothing to curtail these illegal over flights that were in violation of the US's own Neutrality Act, in violation of FAA flight plan submissions, in violation of international law, and in violation of Cuban law.

What would the US do if Al Queda (a declared enemy of the US) flew over US cities strafing with guns or dropping firebombs on American soil? Would the US tolerate any unregulated over flights after the 9-11 terra attack?

Why should Cuba permit such things?


www.freethefive.org

[Judi Lynn]

7. Basulto's terrorism launched at Cuba

goes all the way back to the Bay of Pigs, continued right up to the shoot-down.

The article by Wayne S. Smith posted above addressed the predicament Cuba was in over Basulto's Brothers to the Rescue planes:

"So put the shoe on the other foot," Smith says. "Let's say
light Cuban aircraft had been overflying downtown Washington,
dropping leaflets. You can
imagine that the U.S. would demand action to stop these
overflights or serious consequences would result.

"And that's basically what happened in Cuba. They saw that
the U.S. was not doing anything. And given Basulto's CIA
background, I think the Cubans suspected this was all part of a
CIA or U.S. government plan. So in January this group overflew
downtown Havana dropping leaflets, and the Cubans were livid. At
that time they warned this group that if they penetrated Cuban
airspace again, they'd be shot down. The Cubans sent a note to
this effect to the State Department, and the State
Department, again, did nothing."
(snip/...)

Couldn't be clearer, and as you said, they did far, far more than simply drop leaflets.

Somewhere it's written that some of their planes were retired planes bought from our own government, which they continued to use, without repainting and could be seen as looking like planes from the official U.S. Government, which was very unsettling to Cubans, and why wouldn't they? Very, very ugly trick.

[Democat]

8. Who are these Powell aides ripping Bush policy lately?

Powell seems to be using these "aides" to say things he can't.

Why doesn't he stand up for himself? There must be a lot of money involved for him to sell out so completely.

[Mika]

9. Either that or threats

Maybe son Michael would get canned from the FCC if Colin squeals too loudly.

Maybe there are compromising photos from the past of Colin with dolly the sheep. :shrug:

[0007]

11. If Myron Lansky were still around he'd tell 'ya how much money

he and Fulgencio Batista cut up. I wonder even today how the pie was cut.