Posted on 08/02/2006 4:19:54 PM PDT by SmithL
The White House and Congress, caught unaware by Fidel Castro's illness, prepared Wednesday for a possible showdown in Cuba as lawmakers drafted legislation that would pay millions of dollars to dissidents who fight for democratic change.
"The message will be: The United States stands with you," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., one of the authors, said in an interview. "Be ready to assert your independence."
There was no sign of upheaval in Cuba Wednesday, two days after Castro stunned U.S. officials and many of his own countrymen with the news that he had temporarily ceded power to his brother, Raul, in order to undergo surgery.
The handover was a surprise to the White House and Congress, one senator said.
"The president's comment was that everybody was caught by surprise, and we'll have to wait and see" what U.S. action is necessary, said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, who discussed the developments with President Bush on Tuesday. "I think all of us can say we had no idea this was coming."
The remarks underscored the scanty reliable intelligence the U.S. has on an old Cold War foe that lies just 90 miles off the Florida shore.
"It's difficult for us to assess what the situation is," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. He cautioned Cubans against any mass exodus — and Cuban-American exiles against returning to claim property they lost in Cuba.
"Stay where you are. This is not a time for people to try to be getting in the water and going either way," Snow added. "We have talked about the importance, eventually, of finding an orderly and safe way for people to make transit between two places."
At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States had no independent information about Castro's health. "This is a pretty closed decision-making
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"that would pay millions of dollars to dissidents who fight for democratic change."
I'm not sure that makes any sense.
From what I have been told by Cubans, they would have won the Bay of Pigs if the U.S. had given them the promised air support. Our past leaders (JFK) left them on the beaches to die. Cubans are all aware of that historic past. The main issue with a failing Castro is a mass exodus out of Cuba. We could be seeing millions of more immigrants wanting to come to the U.S.. These immigrants would obviously be escaping political persecution. I heard one airhead MSM progresso idiot reporterette yesterday state that there would be a mass immigration into Cuba if Castro fell ! These progressos really have dysfunctional thought processes and they fail to grasp history. Did the Western Germans flock into Eastern Germany when the Berlin wall came down ? Did Russian ex-patriots flood into Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed ? Last I heard Putin he claimed they are still losing a net of 700,000 Russian each year due to emigration and the death/birth ratio.
It also looks like Hurricane Chris may wreak havoc on the Cuban island of paradise.
Given America's reputation, thanks to the left, of abandoning allies in Viet Nam, Lebanon, Somalia and the First Gulf War, as well as the Democrats penchant for making us abandon the Iraqis now and leave them high and dry as others we have turned our backs on, does he really think any of the Cubans believe him?
How would the Democrats ever support the Cubans after their near hysteria over helping and supporting the Iraqis?
I want a showdown in Iran.
We do need to sort out the Castros. They don't want to sacrifice millions of people to bring back the 12th Imam, so we need to keep our priorities straight.
Especially considering that the last Democrat President (Clinton) sent back a small Cuban child (Elian) whose mother had died trying to leave the Tyranny of Castro. The Cubans know better then to trust D.C. politicians who typically are available to the highest bidder.
I seriously doubt the veracity of this article. I'll bet the writer is 14 years old, it sounds so naive.
First, travel between Cuba and the USA is not all that restricted and we surely have spies in place. The prez and congress can hardly be caught unaware that a hostile 79-year-old creep is about to die. Utterly DUH. (Even newspapers prepare obits on everyone years in advance.) There's probably a WH file cabinet crammed with statements, plans, contingency plans, procedures, contingency procedures and all the other jazz that all governments prepare in advance. We've had 40 something years to get ready for this surprising event, after all.
"I heard one airhead MSM progresso idiot reporterette yesterday state that there would be a mass immigration into Cuba if Castro fell."
I heard that same thought expressed by several others yesterday. Even Senator Mel Martinez said that he hoped that Cubans would keep their emotions in check and avoid a mass migration to the United States.
From what I understand very few of the American-Cubans actually plan to move back to Cuba. The land has basically been ruined by Tobacco and Sugar Cane plantations. Not to mention that stolen property-assets have not been kept up. If Cubans on the island sense that the Castro regime is losing control, many may flee since they would not have to worry about the Cuban authorities trying to stop them. If the U.S. experiences a mass influx of Cubans at the same time we have basically had our borders open to central America, it could cause quite the refugee problem.
It was his recently deceased father's life-mission to oust the commie bastards and assume leadership. It is now junior's goal to quickly fill a power void and become the first lawfully elected president. His cabinet is selected and is said to include people who are currently in Fidel's government. His organization also includes Felix Rodriguez.
They believe that they have the backing of the US.
As for the Bay of Pigs, it is doubtful that they would have succeeded even if both the air power and naval support had been delivered as promised. CIA AAR docs indicate that communication with sleepers never clicked and that the expectation active support from the general populace was a severe miscalculation.
Correction - MasTec is the corporation. CANF is the Cuban American National Foundation.
Three words: Bay of Pigs
There are many, many very wealthy Cuban Americans who fully intend to "capitalize" on the death of a communist Cuba. I wonder how they will be accepted by the Cubans...
and they tell us he is in fact - dead.
The remarks underscored the scanty reliable intelligence the U.S. has on an old Cold War foe that lies just 90 miles off the Florida shore.
"It's difficult for us to assess what the situation is," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
_______________________________________________________
Our wonderfully competent CIA in action again.....
And this is on an island right off the coast of Florida!
I guess Bennett and Snow could be just saying these things as cover, but somehow I doubt it.
Who says they were caught unaware?
Just as there were many very wealthy ex-patriot Russian capitalists from all over the World who flocked to the new 'open' Russian market. Many of those entrepreneurs were lucky to get out of Russia alive. Smart money says Cuban Americans analyze what happened to the Russian entrepreneurs. It will come, but it will come slow. My father used to tell certain people that the 'south will rise again one day'. I always thought it was just a favorite sales pitch of his. It seemed like he was talking strictly economically. In current times it seems to me that perhaps the main problem has been those huge Hurricanes that show up every now and then.
That's the most interesting thing I've heard yet and makes perfect sense. It would also explain the lack of cogent answers out of Washington at this time. A reverse coup is in the making, with Jorge Mas Santos as the new stealth Castro. A perfect way to invest papa's fortune because Cuba is going to be extremely prosperous in a big fat hurry once capitalism becomes the law of the land. Not a minute to lose, either, as the Chicom suits are all over the place down there and have been for years.
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