Castro blames U.S. for stoking nuclear tensions

[IScreamSundays]

Source: CNN

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- The United States is pushing for what would become nuclear wars against Iran and North Korea, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said in a rare televised interview Monday.

Castro blamed the United States, not North Korea, for the sinking of a South Korean ship that killed 46 sailors. The incident was orchestrated to stir conflict in the region, Castro said.

The former Cuban leader, who is 83, said he was disappointed that China and Russia didn't veto a U.N. Security Council resolution for additional sanctions against Iran for its alleged illegal nuclear program.

Iran, he said, has been building up for a confrontation for 30 years. If the United States attacks Iran, it will meet a resistance unlike anything it faced in Iraq, Castro said.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/12/cuba.castro.appearance/?fbid=LsOuxIcl4AU

[Pavulon]

1. Irony at its finest (nt)

[unkachuck]

2. "The incident was orchestrated to stir conflict in the region..."

....it has been known to happen....

[MrSlayer]

3. I don't know that he is wrong.

It's not like we haven't done false flags before and Iran would be a much tougher fight than Iraq. I don't know that he is right either.

[cowman]

4. Here we go again,

blame America for everything, the S.Korean govt has identified a piece of shrapnel as a NK torpedo.

[MrSlayer]

5. I didn't blame America.

I just said that I didn't know that Castro was wrong and that I also didn't know that he was right. The Germans identified those who allegedly attacked that radio station back in the day as Poles, you may know it as the Gleiwitz incident . And of course there was that whole Gulf of Tonkin incident where we "identified" NVN torpedoes as having attacked us. We know that both were bullshit. There are many examples of such incidents throughout history. Governments lie all the time about these sort of things. You know Chimpy and his poodle Blair were going to fake a UN plane being shot down by Iraq. I don't accept anything they say at face value.

[Billy Burnett]

6. Don't forget the USS Maine, or the Bay of Pigs

The Cubans are all too familiar with American government shenanigans.

Luckily, they have good leadership to keep the grubby paws of US imperialism at bay.



Ready to lead at the front lines.

638 WAYS TO KILL CASTRO
http://www.638waystokillcastro.com/

If the title of this extraordinary film sounds ludicrous, don't be fooled. This film looks at the incredible story of the 638 alleged plots by the CIA and Cuban exiles to kill the Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

It reveals every conceivable method of asassination from exploding cigars to femme fatales, a radio station rigged with noxious gas to a poison syringe posing as an innocuous ballpoint pen. If you think this sounds like something out of a James Bond film from the days of Cold War spies, then you're not far from the truth. John F Kennedy even asked Bond-creator Ian Fleming for his advice on how to oust Castro.

[Socal31]

7. I could bring up a past indiscretion by a State to validate any wild argument.

[Billy Burnett]

8. No doubt, but the Cubans and Castro know the subject well.

The shit is still going on there! (The shit being US ops to destabilize the gov of Cuba.)

As irrelevant as US false flag ops might be to Americans, it is salient, to this day, to Cubans. That's why Castro broaches this topic on Cuban TV.

[Xicano]

9. Also, don't forget the proposed Operation Northwoods.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430/northwoods.pdf << Full declassified document.

-----

[Judi Lynn]

10. It's excellent seeing the documents for the first time. Heard about Operation Northwoods

when the author James Bamford's book on the subject came out after he secured access to these documents through FOIA.

Here's a small look at his book for other DU'ers to check. NO ONE should be left unaware of what this diabolical plan was, and how close they came to pulling it off at the time:

Joint Chiefs (1962) Willing
to Kill Americans in Bizarre Plot/New Book

by DM, 29 Apr 2002

Excerpts from Body of Secrets, Chapter Four, by James Bamford.

• Former investigative producer for ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings
  
• Author of The Puzzle Palace, (1983)

"(Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman) Lemnitzer was a dangerous -- perhaps even unbalanced -- right-wing extremist in an extraordinarily sensitive position during a critical period. But Operation Northwoods also had the support of every single member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and even senior Pentagon official Paul Nitze argued in favor of provoking a phony war with Cuba. The fact that the most senior members of all the services and the Pentagon could be so out of touch with reality and the meaning of democracy would be hidden for four decades."

"According to secret and long-hidden documents obtained for Body of Secrets, the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up and approved plans for what may be the most corrupt plan ever created by the U.S. Government. In the name of anticommunism, they proposed launching a secret and bloody war of terrorism against their own country in order to trick the American public into supporting an ill-conceived war they intended to launch against Cuba. Codenamed Operation Northwoods, the plan, which had the written approval of the Chairman and every member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for innocent people to be shot on American streets; for boats carrying refugees fleeing Cuba to be sunk on the high seas; for a wave of violent terrorism to be launched in Washington, D.C., Miami, and elsewhere. People would be framed for bombings they did not commit; planes would be hijacked. Using phony evidence, all of it would be blamed on Castro, thus giving Lemnitzer and his cabal the excuse, as well as the public and international backing, they needed to launch their war.

"Lemnitzer and the other chiefs knew. . . . They would have to trick the American public and world opinion into hating Cuba so much that they would not only go along, but would insist that he and his generals launch their war against Castro."

`World opinion, and the United Nations Forum,' said a secret JCS document, `should be favorably affected by developing the international image of the Cuban government as rash and irresponsible, and as an alarming and unpredictable threat to the peace of the western hemisphere.'

"Operation Northwoods called for a war in which many patriotic Americans and innocent Cubans would die senseless deaths -- all to satisfy the egos of twisted generals back in Washington, safe in their taxpayer-financed homes and limousines."

More:
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/linkscopy/BodyOSecrets.html

[hack89]

11. For which the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

was unceremoniously denied a second term just after he approved it? It was instantly repudiated by the government and the man who approved found his career derailed. Operations Northwood was a bright spot in American democracy - it affirmed once again civilian control of the military.

[Judi Lynn]

12. It was rejected by the man who was assassinated before completing his term. n/t

[hack89]

26. So?

Do you think the CIA/Mafia/Bilderbergers/Illuminati killed JFK because it?

Not everything is a conspiracy you know.

[Billy Burnett]

35. Publicly repudiated.

Secretly endorsed.

That's how it works.

[hack89]

36. Of course - silly me. nt

[Bacchus39]

13. he sounds like a bitter old fool n/t

s

[Mudoria]

14. Indeed

[robcon]

15. Castro is an idiot.

n/t

[Vidar]

20. Such an idiot that he's outlasted 10 US presidents & numerous CIA assassination

& coup attempts. The world could use many more such "idiots".

[MellowDem]

23. What, a demagouge?

You're right, I guess staying in power for so long should really be praised. Yes, Castro is a paranoid idiot when it comes to commenting on foreign affairs. Many will say his paranoia is understandable, but it's still idiocy, just understandable idiocy. He's still living in the Cold War, making invocations to Russia and China to stop the US threat. Does he even know what goes on in Russia and China? Because he'd be opposed to a lot of it if he did. Maybe it's his old age. Whatever it is, Castro will be remembered for the idiot rambler that he was till the day he died, representing another time that he never let go of.

[Billy Burnett]

25. Ha ha. It is the US gov hanging on to the cold war against Cuba.

See: US sanctions on Cuba and the US gov travel ban on Americans preventing US citizens from freely going to "Castro's communist Cuba".

The cold war is still on here in the US.


NEWS FLASH: Castro has retired and is no longer the Cuban Head of State.

[MellowDem]

27. Yeah, now his brother is in charge....

The US policy is based only on the fact that Miami Cubans influence politics so much. They are a key constituency in a swing state. Yes, the policy is illogical, but it has a political reasoning behind it, however self-serving it may seem. That's why the US are pretty good pals now with the aforementioned Russia and China. If Fidel thinks the US is the imperalist capitalist enemy, he should see that Russia and China are outdoing us in every way possible in terms of authoritarianism in the name of capitalism.

We all laugh in the US at the idea of the Cold War still going on. They laugh in Russia. Remember the recent Russian spy thingy? Nobody cares. The US doesn't have a Cold War mentality anymore. But Castro surely does. And he just comes across as incredibly ignorant.

[Billy Burnett]

28. Guess you haven't had much contact with exilio Miami.

Communism is still the biggest threat (according to the RW contingent of exiles who set the exile political agenda here in Miami).

[MellowDem]

30. Yeah, among Cuban exiles and Tea Partiers...

but not among the population as a whole.

[Mika]

31. Nonetheless, it is still US policy against Cuba to continue the cold war stance.

Doesn't matter if it is only teabaggers and exiles - it is still the official policy of the United States of America to continue the cold war era sanctions on Cuba.

Looks like on this issue that the minority rules US policy (not exactly a shining example of Democracy™ the US claims as an export).

---

[MellowDem]

32. That's true on a lot of things...

small groups that are well organized politically weild a lot of power beyond their numbers. Cuban exiles, AIPAC, etc. etc.

[Billy Burnett]

34. Then, what's the beef against Cuba?

Seems as though the vast majority of Cubans in Cuba support their system of government (according to the annual CIA factbook on Cuba for several decades now) and the vast majority participate in their parliamentary democracy.

Of course, this is news to travel and information banned Americans.

I find it interesting that those who argue for the continuation of the 50+ year old US travel ban (which is a stark minority of the US population, yet the US travel ban continues) use the argument: 'that the rest of the world goes to Cuba and it hasn't changed anything'. Hmmm. Maybe that's because the rest of the world sees Cuba in a different light than the US bought-and-paid-for government. Americans can't freely and fairly make an honest conclusion about anything Cuban without the right to be able to go and see the place and the people for themselves.


Cheers to all. :hi:

[MellowDem]

37. I didn't say anything bad about Cuba...

I was criticizing Castro's comments. You can say what you will about Cuba's parliamentary democracy and Cuba's support of their government, but it doesn't put it above criticism. Cuba is essentially a one party system that had the same president for essentially a lifetime that has only recently been taken over by the former President's brother. That sounds pretty bad, and all the excuses don't really change those facts. If it is a democracy, it's not much of one. Just my opinion, but there you have it.

All in all, I don't really care much about Cuba's "democracy" or lack thereof. In the grand scheme of things, Cuba is doing fine, and the problems that exist aren't that bad when compared to other countries. Of course we should end the travel ban. I don't really think it will change anything in Cuba, besides perhaps tourist dollars.

It would be fun to see an article by Fidel criticizing Russia and China for essentially turning their backs on Communism and Socialism, much less on democracy that Cuba likes to say it practices. Maybe he has written such things? It would make a lot more sense than his recent rant, that's for sure.

[Mika]

48. Castro has produced such comments.

It would be fun to see an article by Fidel criticizing Russia and China for essentially turning their backs on Communism and Socialism, much less on democracy that Cuba likes to say it practices. Maybe he has written such things? It would make a lot more sense than his recent rant, that's for sure.

If you would like to see them, then you must look for them. You don't think that US based media is going to cover Fidel's speeches or articles do you? If that were to happen maybe fewer Americans would be Castrophobes. Sometimes you can be amazed, when doing your own research legwork, at the level of myths, propaganda and lies our popular media spoon feeds us.

Anyway, here's a place to start to see for yourself....

Discursos e intervenciones del Comandante en Jefe
Fidel Castro Ruz, Presidente del Consejo de Estado
de la República de Cuba.
http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/

These were written by Fidel Castro prior to his retirement. Google will be your friend if you want his more recent writings.

:hi:

---

[ProudDad]

39. If the USAmerikan Empire doesn't have the Cold War

mentality any more...

Why the fuck are they still maintaining the Embargo? Hmmmm?

[MellowDem]

42. I already explained why....

It's because the Cuban exile population in Florida is a key constituency in a swing state. And it's not like CommieCooba has a ton of business to do with us compared to other nations, so the embargo isn't a big deal. On the other hand, we have good relations (and tons of trade) with Russia and China, the two super scary Commie enemies of yesteryear. So, once again, the US doesn't have a Cold War mentality anymore.

[ProudDad]

43. "And it's not like CommieCooba has a ton of business to do with us"

Sounds like Cold War bullshit to me... :shrug:

You guys have internalized bullshit "anti-communism" so deeply you can't even notice your own bias any more...

[MellowDem]

46. Nah, just a retort to your USAmerika....

I personally don't have a Cold War mentality, but I like making fun of it. It seems like you do.

[ProudDad]

49. I use the term "USAmerica"

to try to break through the parochial U.S. exceptionalism that objectifies the rest of the countries of the American continent in order to exploit the folks who live here. :hi:

I use the term "USAmerikan Empire" when discussing the activities, ownership and political managers of the ... well, USAmerikan Empire... The evil done in our name by the Empire.

Like most kids who grew up in the 50s, I had the "Cold War" mentality until the late 50s. I was in school doing "Duck and Cover" about 5 miles from the Pentagon and realized that was pretty stupid. They should have had us go outside, grab our ankles and kiss our asses goodbye!

[amandabeech]

51. The Cold War is ongoing in South Florida and Hudson County,

New Jersey.

The rest of the country just wants its jobs back.

[ProudDad]

38. Still living in the Cold War???

Uh, that would be the fucking USAmerikan Empire!

He's such an "idiot" he scared the crap out of 10 pResidents and their capitalist masters!

[MellowDem]

47. He only scared them when there were nukes there...

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, no one is scared of Castro. He is a relic and a laughingstock to many. A bumbling, rambling idealistic hypocrite. An odd amusement in his later years. He is not a threat and Cuba is harmless. His brother is slowly making some changes. Cuba will move on, but Castro will ramble like it's the Cuban Missile Crisis until his death. Or maybe he'll have a revelation. Hard to say. Many people on both sides had a hard time letting go of the Cold War mentality, with it's simple, black and white view of the world. Castro never has let go of that comforting mentality.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

45. Castro is a lot of things, an idiot is not one of them. n/t

[bemildred]

16. Iraq inquiry: Government ‘intentionally and substantially’ exaggerated WMD threat

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4461698&mesg_id=4461698

[SunnySong]

17. Isn't this like OJ Simpson accusing Mel Gibson of having anger management issues. nt

[Mika]

18. Not at all

Before the 1959 revolution

75% of rural dwellings were huts made from palm trees.

More than 50% had no toilets of any kind.

85% had no inside running water.

91% had no electricity.

There was only 1 doctor per 2,000 people in rural areas.

More than one-third of the rural population had intestinal parasites.

Only 4% of Cuban peasants ate meat regularly; only 1% ate fish, less than 2% eggs, 3% bread, 11% milk; none ate green vegetables.

The average annual income among peasants was $91 (1956), less than 1/3 of the national income per person.

45% of the rural population was illiterate; 44% had never attended a school.

25% of the labor force was chronically unemployed.

1 million people were illiterate ( in a population of about 5.5 million).

27% of urban children, not to speak of 61% of rural children, were not attending school.

Racial discrimination was widespread.

The public school system had deteriorated badly.

Corruption was endemic; anyone could be bought, from a Supreme Court judge to a cop.

Police brutality and torture were common.

___



After the 1959 revolution
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43b/185.html

“It is in some sense almost an anti-model,” according to Eric Swanson, the programme manager for the Bank’s Development Data Group, which compiled the WDI, a tome of almost 400 pages covering scores of economic, social, and environmental indicators.

Indeed, Cuba is living proof in many ways that the Bank’s dictum that economic growth is a pre-condition for improving the lives of the poor is over-stated, if not, downright wrong.

-

It has reduced its infant mortality rate from 11 per 1,000 births in 1990 to seven in 1999, which places it firmly in the ranks of the western industrialised nations. It now stands at six, according to Jo Ritzen, the Bank’s Vice President for Development Policy, who visited Cuba privately several months ago to see for himself.

By comparison, the infant mortality rate for Argentina stood at 18 in 1999;

Chile’s was down to ten; and Costa Rica, at 12. For the entire Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole, the average was 30 in 1999.

Similarly, the mortality rate for children under the age of five in Cuba has fallen from 13 to eight per thousand over the decade. That figure is 50% lower than the rate in Chile, the Latin American country closest to Cuba’s achievement. For the region as a whole, the average was 38 in 1999.

“Six for every 1,000 in infant mortality - the same level as Spain - is just unbelievable,” according to Ritzen, a former education minister in the Netherlands. “You observe it, and so you see that Cuba has done exceedingly well in the human development area.”

Indeed, in Ritzen’s own field, the figures tell much the same story. Net primary enrolment for both girls and boys reached 100% in 1997, up from 92% in 1990. That was as high as most developed nations - higher even than the US rate and well above 80-90% rates achieved by the most advanced Latin American countries.

“Even in education performance, Cuba’s is very much in tune with the developed world, and much higher than schools in, say, Argentina, Brazil, or Chile.”

It is no wonder, in some ways. Public spending on education in Cuba amounts to about 6.7% of gross national income, twice the proportion in other Latin American and Caribbean countries and even Singapore.

There were 12 primary school pupils for every Cuban teacher in 1997, a ratio that ranked with Sweden, rather than any other developing country. The Latin American and East Asian average was twice as high at 25 to one.

The average youth (age 15-24) illiteracy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean stands at 7%. In Cuba, the rate is zero. In Latin America, where the average is 7%, only Uruguay approaches that achievement, with one percent youth illiteracy.

“Cuba managed to reduce illiteracy from 40% to zero within ten years,” said Ritzen. “If Cuba shows that it is possible, it shifts the burden of proof to those who say it’s not possible.”

Similarly, Cuba devoted 9.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) during the 1990s to health care, roughly equivalent to Canada’s rate. Its ratio of 5.3 doctors per 1,000 people was the highest in the world.

The question that these statistics pose, of course, is whether the Cuban experience can be replicated. The answer given here is probably not.

“What does it, is the incredible dedication,” according to Wayne Smith, who was head of the US Interests Section in Havana in the late 1970s and early 1980s and has travelled to the island many times since.

[SunnySong]

19. All above may very well be perfectly accurate... but alas it was Castro's Cuba that is the current

Gold medal holder in the Stirring Nuclear tensions competition.

[Mika]

21. You think Castro was in control of Soviet missiles?

:rofl:

---

[Billy Burnett]

24. There were NEVER warheads on the Soviet missiles, but the US lined the SE coast with nukes.

You can still visit the abandoned nuclear armed Nike missile launch sites that were built around the time. Plus there were portable missile launchers placed up and down the SE coast of Florida with tactical battlefield nuke warheads.

Neither Cuba nor the Soviets had any armed missiles in Cuba.

Castro was raving about the possible use of nukes (by the Soviets in command) as a retaliatory reaction IF the US launched any at Cuba.

If any nation wins the gold medal at "Stirring Nuclear tensions competition" there is a clear leader that stands head and shoulders above anything Castro/Cuba had ever done ... and that winner is the USofA.
http://www.google.com/images?q=Nike+missile+bases+florida&btnG=Search&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=2


Don't let any facts get in the way of your anti Cuba blathering.

[Judi Lynn]

29. You really SHOULD take time to get the complete story about the event,

and the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the U.S. placement of major threat missiles in Turkey as a threat to Russia which provoked the event, and what the conditions were of the resolution.

Most DU'ers do put in the effort to learn about the subject they're attempting to discuss.

It's one thing to think you might sound informed, familiar with history, but you don't really want to embarrass yourself.

[Mika]

33. As Billy points out, the SE coast and Keys were dripping with armed nuke missiles.

Cuban Missile Crisis Summary as follows:


No nukes in Cuba (the uncompleted missile launch sites and unassembled missiles were nuclear warhead capable, but not nuclear armed).

Thousands of armed nuclear warhead missiles pointing at Cuba from Florida.


Conclusion: Castro is at fault. Castro is the warmonger. Forever. Period.

---

[ProudDad]

40. No, that would be Barry Obama and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

who are the only "Stirring Nuclear Tensions" contestants...

[bemildred]

22. An unwelcome "good example", right next door.

No wonder they don't want to let us visit.

[ProudDad]

41. That's it!

Can't corrupt the USAmerican Sheeple with happy Socialists...

[ProudDad]

44. Viva Socialismo! (n/t)

[Judi Lynn]

50. The U.S. Military Moves Into Costa Rica

The U.S. Military Moves Into Costa Rica
By Mark Vorpahl
Sunday, July 18, 2010

Nestled between Panama to its south and Nicaragua to its north, Costa Rica is a Central American nation roughly the size of Rhode Island.

If another nation were to send Rhode Island a force of 7,000 troops, 200 helicopters, and 46 warships in an effort to eradicate drug trafficking, it is doubtful that the residents of Rhode Island would consider this offer "on-the-level." Such a massive military force could hardly be efficiently used to combat drug cartels. The only logical conclusion is that the nation whose troops now are occupying this other country had another agenda in mind that it didn't want to share.

In early July, by a vote of 31 to 8, the Costa Rican Congress approved the U.S. bringing into their nation the same military force described above, justified with the same dubious "war on drugs" rationale. According to the agreement, the military forces are supposed to leave Costa Rica by the end of 2010. This begs the question, however, if such an over the top display of military muscle is needed now to combat the drug cartels, what will be done in the next few months to make their presence unnecessary? The history of such U.S. military deployments around the world suggests a more credible outcome than what the agreement states. Once the U.S. moves such massive forces into a country, they rarely move them out.

When push comes to shove, the political machinery in Costa Rica is subservient to U.S. government and corporate interests. Nevertheless, there are many in Costa Rica who are declaring that the agreement is a violation of their national sovereignty and is unconstitutional. (In 1948 Costa Rica abolished its army, which was sanctioned in its constitution.) Legislator Luis Fishman has vowed to challenge the decision of the Congress in the courts.

Shifting Strategy and Tactics

The buildup of U.S. armed forces in Costa Rica is part of an escalating pattern that indicates a shifting of strategy and tactics for the U.S. in controlling what the Monroe Doctrine infamously described as the U.S.'s "backyard" — that is, all of Latin America. Since the U.S. government inspired covert coup d’etats and political reversals of popular governments and/or movements in Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua, and El Salvador in previous decades, U.S. rulers had figured they had things stitched up to their liking in Latin America. The political elites in Latin America were uniformly in the pockets of the U.S. corporate empire and appeared to be more or less in control of their people. They commonly outlawed strikes and at times even trade unions, eliminated minimum wage laws, and gave enormous tax breaks to U.S. corporations.

More:
http://www.zcommunications.org/the-u-s-military-moves-into-costa-rica-by-mark-vorpahl