Bush Threatens Escalation Of Aggression Against Cuba

http://www.countercurrents.org/auken251007.htm,


Bush call for Cuba democracy fund likely to fall on deaf ears: experts
by Antonio Rodriguez

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush's plea that the world community contribute to a fund to promote democratic reform in Cuba likely will fall on deaf ears, and may actually strengthen the hand of its ailing leader Fidel Castro, experts said. Bush on Wednesday, in his first address since 2003 to focus solely on Cuba, called on the world to help transform the communist island from a "tropical Gulag" by investing economic and political capital in its pro-democracy movements.Bush said the United States would seek contributions for the billion-dollar "freedom fund" to provide financial support to Cubans -- but only after their government has fully embraced freedom of speech, freedom of the press, multi-party elections and other attributes of a democratic society.Various respected experts on America's Cuba policy, however, called the initiatives pointless, and possibly even counterproductive."This so-called 'multimillion freedom fund' is simply a figment of the president's imagination," Wayne Smith, senior fellow and director of the Cuba program at the Center for International Policy.A longtime critic of America's economic embargo and other hardline US policies toward the communist island, Smith called the Bush adminstration's entire package of Cuba reforms "absurd."In the first place, far from having too little money for development, Cuba at the moment is awash in development funds, Smith said."They are already getting billions of dollars from Venezuela and China. The Cuban economy is doing OK," he said, adding that the monies have helped the island weather the decades-old economic embargo -- which Bush during his speech insisted he would only lift after democratic reforms take place.The US leader also called on other countries to make more public shows of support for pro-democracy activists in Cuba, and warned that there may be a price to pay for countries that fail to help."The dissidents of today will be the nation's leaders tomorrow. When freedom finally comes, they will surely remember who stood with them," said the president on Wednesday.Bush said the time is ripe for such pro-democracy initiatives with Castro, 81, aging and infirm, still recovering from gastrointestinal surgery he underwent in July 2006 and possibly on the way out of power.For the time being, Castro's younger brother Raul Castro, 76, who is also the country's defense chief, is serving as interim president of Cuba.Smith said however that Washington's current unpopularity -- on the heels of the fiasco in Iraq and other perceived foreign policy failures -- make it unlikely that any countries other than Washington's most loyal allies will answer Bush's call."I'm sure that (the Czech Republic) and maybe Poland will say that they will contribute. I don't think anyone else will," said Smith.Ian Vasquez, of the CATO Institute, took matters even further, calling the speech was a "strategic blunder" by the Bush administration."He fell into Castro's trap," Vasquez said."With this speech, Castro can say that the North American imperialists once again has interfered in Cuba's internal affairs, and it allows him to more easily discredit efforts to promote democracy on the island."Even America's influential and well-heeled Cuban exile community, which generally welcomed Bush's speech, criticized the plan as lacking a clear strategy to bring about such change. And Michael Shifter, vice president for policy, Inter-American Dialogue, said the time has passed when Washington could simply impose its will in Latin America or twist the arms of its European allies. "Bush's words have an anachronistic ring. For the international community, and certainly Latin America, references to a 'transition' in Cuba seem premature, presumptuous, even offensive," he said. "If anything can revive Fidel Castro, it is President Bush's speech," Shifter added. "It's the perfect tonic for the ailing dictator who has always counted on Washington to deliver sharp, confrontational rhetoric that plays into his hands and has helped sustain him in power for so long."


« Bush as AlbatrossBush Beats the Castro Drum
Mashek, John
At arguably the weakest point in his presidency, George W. Bush decided to beat the drums on Cuba and Fidel Castro—again.The president may have pleased the dissidents in South Florida, many of whom thought we should have invaded Havana long ago. But the speech this week accomplished little else.At arguably the weakest point in his presidency, George W. Bush decided to beat the drums on Cuba and Fidel Castro—again.The president may have pleased the dissidents in South Florida, many of whom thought we should have invaded Havana long ago. But the speech this week accomplished little else.As if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and making menacing noises almost daily at Iran weren't enough, this administration leans on Cuba.The Cuba issue is on the distant back burner and has been for many years. Castro has maintained power since John F. Kennedy occupied the Oval Office. That was nine long administrations ago.There is no indication of any uprising in Cuba when the aging Communist dies and his brother Raul assumes power. So why is Bush speaking out now? Only he knows why it was necessary to please the hotheads in Miami and environs.The anti-Castro Cubans in Florida have been itching to go after Fidel since the Bay of Pigs invasion failed so miserably. It is not going to happen, period.In the real world, Castro is no threat. He may deliver long and bombastic speeches when he's healthy, but that's about it. He or his brother would be crazed to make any overt move against the United States.Our military is already stretched too thin. With active conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and significant troop presence in Korea and Western Europe, there is really no margin for error.The situation in Cuba is insignificant by comparison, despite the president's rousing news for the dissidents who hate Fidel. Get over it, Mr. President.John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992. In retirement, he is teaching part time at the Medill School's graduate program in Washington.


Cuba's economyRaúl's talking curePointers to a coming liberalisation
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10026212&fsrc=nwl,


Venezuela Warns U.S. that "Cuba is Not Alone"
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2763,

How the Applause Meter Rates Bush’s Pressure on Cuba http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/washington/25assess.html?em&ex=1193457600&en=fc676aa8dc9169d8&ei=5087%0A,

The political insanity of Washington Caesar
by Ralph Nader
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=28302&sectionid=3510303,

A new course for Cuba policy
Los Angeles Times, CA - The countries are China and Vietnam, which the United States recognized in 1979 and 1995, respectively, and Cuba, still an archvillain in Washington's eyes. ...Keeping Up the Hard Line on Cuba TIMECuba broadcasts large segment of Bush’s critical speech Kansas City StarA Hard Line on Cuba TIMEAFP - Economistand 945 news articles »

Reproducción del discurso de Bush despierta perplejidady
FRANCES ROBLES - The Miami Herald -PABLO BACHELET
Los medios de prensa controlados por el gobierno de Cuba tomaron la rara decisión de publicar una página entera de extractos del discurso del presidente Bush sobre la isla y anteriormente transmitieron unos 15 minutos del discurso televisado.http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/america_latina/cuba/story/108756.html,

¿Libertad? ¡No bromees! Carta abierta al Presidente de los Estados Unidos
Carlos Rodríguez Almaguer
http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia.php?id_noticia=43676,

Analistas descartan propuesta de Bush sobre Fondo de Cuba
http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/10/26/int_art_analistas-descartan_559999.shtml,El llamado del presidente estadounidense, George W. Bush, a la comunidad internacional para crear un fondo de apoyo a la "libertad" en Cuba tiene escasas ...Fustigan en India diatribas de Bush contra Cuba Prensa LatinaDemócratas critican el discurso de Bush sobre Cuba Terra EspañaPrecandidato EEUU Obama critica discurso de Bush sobre Cuba Reuters América LatinaLa Jornada (México) - Encuentro en la Redy 31 artículos relacionados »

Rechazan en Colombia amenazas contra Cuba
Prensa Latina - Asimismo puntualiza que frente a las mentiras del imperio estadounidense ya los planes de una "reconquista de Cuba por la fuerza", se impone la respuesta de ...Trabajadores venezolanos rechazan amenazas de Bush a Cuba Prensa LatinaCUBA-EEUU: Relaciones al rojo vivo IPS Noticias (Suscripción)Llamado de Bush atrinchera a Gobierno de Cuba y baja expectativas ... AFPMilenio - Prensa Latinay 662 artículos relacionados »

Cuban-American Republican Senator Responds to Bush Remarks
Tell Me More, U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida, is a first-generation Cuban American. Martinez reacts to President Bush's recent speech on a post-Fidel Castro Cuba. Martinez also sets the record straight on why he chose to step down as Chair of the Republican National Committee.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15622600&ft=1&f=1001,

Cuba en la prensa europea del 25/10/2007
En una columna de opinión el International Herald Tribune nos cuenta "cómo el aplaudímetro condiciona la presión de Bush sobre Cuba". El diario desmenuza el discurso en el que el presidente estadounidense reconfirmó el embargo contra una isla que el castrismo ha convertido, en palabras del mandatario, citadas por el Financial Times, en un "gúlag tropical". Bush también pidió a varios países que sean más intransigentes con La Habana. El International Herald Tribune observa que "los exiliados que estaban en la sala del departamento de Estado ovacionaron el discurso, mientras que los embajadores invitados apenas se movieron", por lo que el diario concluye que "este discurso fue dictado sobre todo por los intereses internos". "Bush no tolerará un castrismo sin Castro", titula El Mundo, recordando que éste ha sido "el primer discurso enteramente dedicado a Cuba del segundo mandato del jefe de la Casa Blanca". "Bush, continúa El Mundo, anunció una serie de iniciativas a favor de la democratización de la isla, como el desarrollo de Internet -siempre que no sea censurado- y los viajes de intercambio para jóvenes. Pero dado el actual clima político en La Habana parece poco probable que esas iniciativas vayan a materializarse". Sin embargo, algo debe cambiar. Eso es lo que da a entender el corresponsal de El País en La Habana: "A través de debates barriales, en centros de trabajo o células de base del Partido Comunista, la sociedad cubana está reclamando cambios profundos, y cuanto antes mejor. 'O nos orientamos pronto al arreglo profundo de nuestro socialismo o nos iremos al desastre', asegura un historiador local" en el matutino español.

Europe Split Over Cuba
Patrick GoodenoughInternational Editor(CNSNews.com) - President Bush's speech on Cuba Wednesday will have particular resonance in Europe, where a battle between competing views on how to deal with the Castro regime has intensified in recent years.The sharpest divisions are evident between socialist-ruled Spain and the formerly communist countries of Central Europe, where sympathy for Cuban dissidents runs deep in official and non-governmental circles alike.In his speech at the State Department, the president said the U.S. would maintain its policy of isolating Havana and called for international support. "Now is the time for the world to put aside its differences and prepare for Cuba's transition to a future of freedom and progress and promise," he said.Bush singled out the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, praising their "support and encouragement to Cuba's brave democratic opposition" and urged other countries to follow their example.In 2003, the European Union (E.U.), prompted by Spain -- Cuba's 19th century colonial ruler -- imposed diplomatic sanctions after the regime arrested 75 prominent dissidents, put them on trial and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms. The E.U. also agreed to support Cuban dissidents by inviting them to functions at E.U. member states' diplomatic missions in Havana. President Fidel Castro in turn froze ties with the embassies.Among the most enthusiastic supporters of the sanctions were the former Warsaw Pact countries who joined the E.U. in 2004.But E.U. consensus quickly crumbled. Spain's conservative government was replaced by a socialist one under Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who spearheaded efforts to repair the severed ties with Cuba.The sanctions were eased in January 2005, and Zapatero also pushed for E.U. member states to stop inviting dissidents to their embassy receptions, arguing that this would help to ease tensions further.The Czech government put its foot down, calling the proposal "unacceptable." Former President Vaclav Havel -- himself a former dissident -- accused the E.U. of "dancing to Fidel Castro's tune" and slammed "the idea that evil must be appeased."Prague threatened to use a veto in the E.U.'s Council of Foreign Ministers, where policy decisions must be agreed upon unanimously. The Spanish proposal failed.Zapatero has not given up, however, and his government continues to urge the E.U. to draw a distinction between political dialogue with Cuba and the issue of human rights.Last April, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos became the first E.U. foreign minister to visit Havana since the events of 2003.He met with Cuban authorities but not with dissidents, prompting the U.S. human rights watchdog Freedom House to say the decision "sent an unfortunate - if unintended - message that issues of human rights are not a top priority in Spanish foreign policy."During a brief visit to Madrid two months later, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brought up the issue."Democratic states have an obligation to act democratically, meaning to support opposition in Cuba, not to give the regime the idea that they can transition from one dictatorship to another," she told reporters accompanying her, referring to the ailing Castro's handover of power to his brother, Raul, in mid-2006.In a joint press appearance with Moratinos, the differences were again evident. Rice said she had made it clear in her talks "that I have real doubts about the value of engagement with a regime that is anti-democratic.""People who are struggling for a democratic future need to know that they are supported by those of us who are lucky enough to be free," she added.Moratinos responded, "I'm sure that after some time goes by, [Rice] will probably be more convinced that the Spanish approach ... can have its results."In a briefing Wednesday on the administration's Cuba policy, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said Bush is challenging the international community to speak up in favor of democracy and human rights in Cuba."The question is: Where is the outrage?," he said. "We've heard of the outrage about Burma. And you know the things happening in Cuba have been going on for a lot longer and more intensely than Burma. Where is the outrage?"Soeren Kern, senior fellow in transatlantic relations at the Strategic Studies Group in Madrid, wrote last July that Spain's stance on Cuba appears to be driven by hopes of finding oil off the Cuban coast, "nostalgia-based anti-Americanism," and a shift away from a "long-standing Atlanticist foreign policy to one focused almost exclusively on Europe."



Cuban exiles in the Unites States have welcomed President Bush's speech about Cuba in which he voiced support for pro-democracy efforts.
But VOA's Brian Wagner reports that some exiles in Miami say the president's latest initiatives do not go far enough to encourage change.By Brian WagnerMIAMI, FL - The Cuban population of south Florida was listening closely to the president's speech for signs of possible change in U.S. policy toward the Communist regime of Fidel Castro.Orlando Gutierrez, secretary of the pro-democracy Cuban Democratic Directorate, said he welcomed Mr. Bush's promise to continue pressing Cuba's government for democratic reforms.He says as a representative of the Cuban people who are fighting for change, he thinks Mr. Bush showed that he supports the resistance efforts in Cuba.Gutierrez said he expects many Cubans on the island will listen to international broadcasts of the speech, in which Mr. Bush appealed directly to the Cuban people. The president said the Cubans have the power to shape their own destiny, and he told Cuba's military that there is a place for them in a free Cuba.Gutierrez says the direct messages are important to help Cubans understand what is happening off the island.He said many Cubans want to hear what President Bush said because there are winds of change in Cuba and the people want to know what Washington thinks about the developments.Mr. Bush unveiled in his speech new initiatives for Cuba, such as granting licenses for non-governmental groups to take Internet-enabled computers to Cuba and creating new scholarships to bring Cuban students to the United States.Uva de Aragon, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, was not impressed with the package because, she says, Cuban officials are unlikely to allow its implementation.She says Washington should instead focus on areas where it can have a real impact, such as ending restrictions that bar scholars and Cuban exiles in the United States from traveling to the island."We should do more for having students go there [to Cuba] and having professors go there and having family go there because they also take information," said Uva de Aragon.De Aragon said that loosening the decades-old embargo may help encourage democratic and free-market reforms in Cuba, and weaken the government's hold on power. But she says the embargo remains a controversial topic in the Cuban exile community and will likely remain a part of U.S. policy as long as the Castro regime remains in power.Source: Voice of America

CRITICA BARACK OBAMA DISCURSO DE PRESIDENTE BUSH SOBRE CUBA
Barack Obama, precandidato a la presidencia de Estados Unidos por el partido Demócrata. El precandidato demócrata a la presidencia de Estados Unidos, el senador Barack Obama, criticó este miércoles el discurso del presidente, George W. Bush, sobre Cuba y afirmó que contiene amenazas nada productivas.Bush afirmó el miércoles en el Departamento de Estado, que Estados Unidos no va a cambiar su política hacia Cuba bajo el Gobierno interino de Raúl Castro, e instó a los cubanos y a la comunidad internacional a presionar para un cambio democrático en la isla de gobierno comunista.Para Obama, Bush dejó de enviar un mensaje a la comunidad cubano-americana que, para el senador demócrata, es la que más puede influir para un cambio en la isla.

Disidencia: El discurso de Bush podría ser negativo
http://www-tmp.cubaencuentro.com/es/encuentro-en-la-red/cuba/noticias/disidencia-el-discurso-de-bush-podria-ser-negativo/(gnews)/1193316060,


Maduro: “Ataque de Bush a Cuba es un ataque a toda América Latina y El Caribe”
El ministro del Poder Popular para las Relaciones Exteriores indicó que los ataques que el gobierno estadounidense, liderado por George W. Bush, realiza a Cuba, están dirigidos también contra América Latina y el Caribe.
http://globovision.com/news.php?nid=68846,

CUBA-EEUU:Relaciones al rojo vivo
Por Patricia Grogg- El anuncio del presidente de Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, de un endurecimiento de su política hacia Cuba y la fuerte reacción oficial de La Habana definen las posturas extremas de un conflicto que preludia mayores tensiones en los próximos meses.http://www.ipsnoticias.net/nota.asp?idnews=86370,

Quito. 26 al 29 de octubre
V Encuentro Continental de Solidaridad con Cuba
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Dispone Cuba de importante reserva de generación eléctrica
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TRIBUNA: RAFAEL ROJAS
La diversidad bajo control en Cuba
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/diversidad/control/Cuba/elpepuopi/20071026elpepiopi_4/Tes,

¡Ahí sí hay problemas!
Por: Luis Sexto
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/opinion/2007-10-26/ahi-si-hay-problemas/,

Un tinglado para Ignacio Ramonet
El Fórum Universal de las Culturas, con sede en Monterrey, programó en la sección llamada Diálogos, que coordina Enrique Krauze, director de la revista Letras Libres, un debate entre Ignacio Ramonet, director de Le Monde Diplomatique, y Álvaro Vargas Llosa, hijo del novelista Mario Vargas Llosa, periodista y director del Centro para la Prosperidad Global. El tema no podía ser más provocativo: ¿Es bueno el capitalismo para los pobres?http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/10/25/index.php?section=opinion&article=022a2pol,


Broad-band carom
About 20 kilometers north of Cuba, there is a cable to which Cubans might connect, reducing the cost of all kinds of communications and getting better service. But the blockade prevents their access and has obliged Cubans to resort to an old satellite to conduct their communications.http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=206&Itemid=1,


Vendieron el pelo del "Che" Guevara por insólita suma http://www.infobae.com/contenidos/345557-100439-0-Vendieron-el-pelo-del-Che-Guevara-ins%C3%B3lita-suma,


Alina Fernández Revuelta dijo que “con los errores que han cometido y a estas alturas de su mandato, el presidente de EU podría guardarse su opinión. Puede transformarse en un pretexto para que la represión en Cuba recrudezca”, dijo en entrevista con el diario argentino La Nación.http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/10/25/138801/,