[pcx99]

It's as if you didn't read a word I wrote. It is not the father's politics. The father has no rights. And, no, the USA was not consistent in the action. By US law, Elian had full protection to stay in this country. The law was twisted to allow his re-introduction into communism. That is shameful. And if we could really know the truth, I doubt Elian's father wanted Elian to be return. But the father's wants and desires played no part in any of this saga.

It's as if you don't understand the concept of freedom or familly. But hey we'll try again. In the case of the minor the parents have all the rights in the world. The moment he set foot on US soil he had the full force of the historical rights of parents the US has always granted. Those rights says the rights of the father are stronger than the rights of the grandparents or uncles and infinately stronger than the rights of "in-laws" and that again over the right of "bystanders" like you.

The law was never twisted save by those who wanted to disavow the rights and privilages the US has always granted to the parents of children.

As for the father, the moment he set foot on US soil he could have requested asylum for himself and his child. He didn't, and that was his decision. Maybe he was promised wealth and prestige when he returned (and Elian is treated as a national hero for propaganda reasons -- no illusions here), maybe he was told his relatives would be harmed, maybe he just liked his life in cuba. But for whatever reason he did not request the asylum which would have ended the problem once and for all.

The father's wants and desires played every single part in this "saga". The father showed up on US soil and asserted his parental rights once he did that the courts took at his word his wishes just as it would ANYONE ELSE. Had he not done that Elian would still be here.

[whereasandsoforth]

Yres, we will try one last time: PARENTAL RIGHTS DO NOT EXIST IN CUBA. The father has NO RIGHTS IN CUBA. He was in the US laboring under the long cruel thumb of Fidel Castro. That poor guy would have been condemning his relatives back in communist Cuba if he had swayed from the proscribed. You keep writing about this like there is some sort of moral equivalence between the USA and communist Cuba. Newsflash: There isn't! That boy is doomed to live under communism. That is shameful and pathetic.

[Mr Rogers]

By your rationale, a man is prison should get custody of his child the moment the mother dies.

The US DOES pay too much attention to parental rights - that's why we have so many children returned to abusive homes. But we also recognize when the home is unsuitable - and Cuba qualifies. A politcized INS gave the ruling the Castro loving democrats wanted, and the courts then defered to the INS.

[maryz]

The moment he set foot on US soil he had the full force of the historical rights of parents the US has always granted.

Except, of course, for the right of asylum -- Clinton assured Castro that if Elian's father came here, he would not be allowed to seek asylu. (I read somewhere that he tried to several times, but was turned down.)