Cuba, terrorists and the war on terror

Ragusa · Sep 27, 2004

Remove all ads!
Just stumbled over this interesting text by a Council of Foreign Relations comitee member, titled Amid Cheers, Terrorists Have Landed in the U.S.:

A little-noticed but chilling scene at Opa-locka Airport outside Miami last month demonstrates that the Bush administration's commitment to fighting international terrorism can be overtaken by presidential politics -- even if that means admitting known terrorists onto U.S. soil.

That's what happened when outgoing Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso inexplicably pardoned four Cuban exiles convicted of "endangering public safety" for their role in an assassination plot against Fidel Castro during a 2000 international summit in Panama.

After their release, three of the four immediately flew via private jet to Miami, where they were greeted with a cheering fiesta organized by the hard-line anti-Castro community. Federal officials briefly interviewed the pardoned men -- all holders of U.S. passports -- and then let them go their way.

The fourth man, Luis Posada Carriles, was the most notorious member of this anti-Castro cell. He is an escapee from a prison in Venezuela, where he was incarcerated for blowing up an Air Cubana passenger plane in 1976, killing 73. He also admitted plotting six hotel bombings in Havana that killed one tourist and injured 11 others in 1997. Posada has gone into hiding in Honduras while seeking a Central American country that will harbor him, prompting Honduran President Ricardo Maduro to demand an explanation from the Bush administration on how a renowned terrorist could enter his country using a false U.S. passport.

The terrorist backgrounds of Posada's three comrades-in-arms are as well documented as their leader's. Guillermo Novo once fired a bazooka at the U.N. building; in February 1979, he was convicted and sentenced to 40 years for conspiracy in the 1976 assassination of former Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and his American colleague, Ronni Moffitt, in Washington. (His conviction was subsequently vacated on a legal technicality.) Gaspar Jimenez was convicted and imprisoned in Mexico in 1977 for murdering a Cuban consulate official; he was released by authorities in 1983. Pedro Remon received a 10-year sentence in 1986 for conspiring to kill Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations in 1980. These are violent men. Panamanian prosecutors said they had planned to detonate 33 pounds of explosives while Castro was speaking at a university in Panama. Had they not been intercepted by the authorities, the blast not only would have killed the Cuban president but quite possibly hundreds of others gathered to hear him speak during the inter-American summit.

For a small but powerful minority in the Cuban American community, the Posada gang are freedom fighters. But Sept. 11 taught the rest of us about the danger of political fanatics who seek to rationalize their violence. To uphold his oft-stated principle that no nation can be neutral in the war on terrorism, shouldn't President Bush have condemned Moscoso's decision to release these terrorists? To protect the sanctity of U.S. borders and the security of Americans, shouldn't the administration have taken all available steps to keep known terrorists out of the United States?

But Florida is crucial to Bush's reelection strategy. Currying favor with anti-Castro constituents in Miami appears to trump the president's anti-terrorism principles. So far, not a single White House, State Department or Homeland Security official has expressed outrage at Panama's decision to put terrorists back on the world's streets. The FBI appears to have no plans to lead a search for Posada so he can be returned to Venezuela, where he is a wanted fugitive. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which has rounded up and expelled hundreds of foreigners on the mere suspicion of a terrorist link, has indicated no intention to detain and deport Novo, Jimenez and Remon.

In June, the White House seemed to have maxed out on pandering to hard-line Cuban exiles when it virtually eliminated family visits and remittances to Cuba as part of a new initiative to undermine Castro's rule. But that policy has upset anti-Castro moderates in both parties because it criminalizes efforts to build family ties across the Straits of Florida, something a family-values president should support. In response, Bush's decision to accept the repatriation of the Cuban exile terrorists seems calculated to shore up support in the Cuban American community.

But the decision to allow members of the Posada gang into this country, and the televised spectacle of Miamians applauding their return, sends a different and dangerous message: In a swing state, some terrorists are not only acceptable but welcome.
Click to expand...

Interesting. And the author really raises good and hard questions:

Shouldn't have 11 taught us about the danger of political fanatics who seek to rationalize their violence?

To uphold his oft-stated principle that no nation can be neutral in the war on terrorism, shouldn't President Bush have condemned Moscoso's decision to release these terrorists?

To protect the sanctity of U.S. borders and the security of Americans, shouldn't the administration have taken all available steps to keep known terrorists out of the United States?

Well, Bush decided against it - and he sends the message to the world's scum: You're welcome to murder civvies when you have a lobby here in the US. Swell.

[ September 27, 2004, 06:12: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

Takara · Sep 27, 2004

You know Ragusa. you should have named the topic: "Bush flip-flops on terrorism"

Ragusa · Sep 27, 2004

But then - who would read it? The "Ragusa-always-bashes-Bush" guys would say "Ah! Biased Ragusa as always bashes Bush!"
Well, I think this article is and the questions the author reaises are interesting enough to be read your title sort of was ruled out

I find the implication of the release of these goons troubling - as if the Bush administration has applied a 'massage' to the president of Panama to do them a little favour to help get votes in Florida. Unthinkable? Hardly.

After all, how about these great quotes by Bush:

"Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." -- Sept 20, 2001, joint session of Congress
Click to expand...

quote from: http://boycottliberalism.com/Bush-quotes.htm

And you all also may remember that early on, I said if you hide a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you provide comfort to a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist. -- George W. Bush rallies the troops in Alaska on 2/16/02
Click to expand...

as found on http://www.rightwingnews.com/quotes/bushquotes.php

[ September 27, 2004, 10:52: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

Takara · Sep 27, 2004

Ah, but then he wasnt talking about the US. Anybody that blows up the USA's enemies, particularly Cuban, isnt a terrorist by default. Just like Osama wasnt a terrorist when Bush and Co supported him in fighting the Soviets. It doesnt matter how many innocents get killed/maimed, so long as those doing it are killing those the US government doesnt like.

NonSequitur · Sep 30, 2004

Good work, Ragusa. Just goes to show how ludicrous the "war on terror" truly is. It's a truism, but one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. IMHO, terrorism is/was generally no more than the attempt to achieve political goals without engaging in the political process, and hey, so long as it's not OUR political process, who gives a toss? Bush just carved himself a nice little definition and now that it's not holding water, he's just going to pretend it's not relevant. Grrrr.

Log in or Sign up

Cuba, terrorists and the war on terror

Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

NonSequitur Gems: 19/31
Latest gem: Aquamarine

Log in or Sign up

Cuba, terrorists and the war on terror

Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

NonSequitur Gems: 19/31Latest gem: Aquamarine

NonSequitur Gems: 19/31
Latest gem: Aquamarine