Cuba still on terrorist list — they forgot to include the U.S.
In today’s Miami Herald, Lesley Clark reports that “Cuba stays on the list of states that sponsor terrorism.” Interesting, I thought, wondering what guidelines the U.S. uses to measure who is a terrorist nation — or not. So I read on. The report states that Cuba “no longer actively supports armed struggle in Latin America and other parts of the world …” But, and here comes the kicker, the [Cuban] government “continued to provide safe haven to several terrorists.”
I mulled over the concept of terrorism in my head and determined that the U.S. should be on the list… For years, we’ve been actively supporting armed struggles in other parts of the world. Or what would you call Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and so on? As for providing safe haven to terrorists. Well, let’s start in Miami, for example. There are many more than two, but we can mention Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch, two documented terrorists who walk freely down our streets and have even been lauded by some of our representatives in Washington, D.C. Most notably: Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, together with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
At this point, I am not sure what to make of this, really. Then again, there might be a point to Cuba’s inclusion in the terrorist list. For years Fidel Castro, for example, has terrorized U.S. presidents. Yes, the bearded fellow down south seems to give U.S. leaders nightmares. To the point that he managed to turn the U.S.’s strategy up on its head. During the past 50 years, this country has tried to isolate Cuba from the rest of the hemisphere and the world, but at this point, the only one that seems isolated from most of the rest of the world is the U.S.
No wonder U.S. presidents have not slept well for 50 years. These Castros sure know how to play this game of geopolitics. If I was president, I’d be terrorized too.
Alvaro F. Fernandez
5-1-2009
There are no real guidelines concerning what our (US) government labels “terrorist”, but in the proverbial nutshell, it can mean, “Anyone with whom we disagree.” This term has been grossly exploited, but based on the past 50 years, the definition of “terrorism” applies in many ways to government decisions/actions, from our serial wars to our justice/prison system.