"Hey I know you, you're that other commie dictator guy."
Posted on 09/11/2006 12:06:11 PM PDT by presidio9
The Non-Aligned Movement of developing nations began a summit in Cuba on Monday with speeches that made no reference to the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in a sign of animosity to the United States.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque called on the movement's 116 members to close ranks in the face of the threat of military strikes by the world's most powerful nations.
The six-day summit, labeled by critics as a left-over of the Cold War with little diplomatic relevance, is expected to denounce the Bush administration for assuming the role of global policeman in its war on terrorism since the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
"The fight against terrorism cannot be dictated by dates," Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno told reporters.
Visiting leaders are greeted in Havana with billboard posters opposite the U.S. diplomatic mission that show a President George W. Bush, called a terrorist by Cuban leader Fidel Castro, with vampire-like fangs dripping with blood.
In his opening statement, Perez Roque condemned the brutal aggression" against Lebanon and the "daily genocide" committed against Palestines.
He also criticized mounting pressure by the United States and its allies on Iran to abandon its nuclear energy program.
"Other Non-Aligned countries are threatened with preventive wars and aggressions. That is why it is indispensable that we close ranks in defense of our rights," he said.
Cuba, the West's only surviving communist nation, expects some 50 heads of state and government to attend the summit in Havana -- a city that lies only 90 miles from the United States. Leaders from Iran, Venezuela, India and Pakistan are expected to attend.
Holding a summit of nations that make up almost two thirds of the United Nations was a victory over the United States' "cruel policy of isolation and blockade" against Cuba over four decades, Perez Roque said.
Fidel Castro, Washington's longest-lasting ideological foe since he took power in a 1959 revolution, may not be well enough to attend the meetings.
Emergency intestinal surgery for an undisclosed illness forced Castro, 80, to turn over power temporarily to his younger brother, Raul, who will be his stand-in at the summit.
In Miami, Cuban exiles urged democratic Third World nations who are U.S. allies not to attend the summit in Havana.
Florida congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said the timing of the summit was a clear sign of the animosity the Cuban government feels toward the United States.
"To host the summit on the 5th anniversary of the monstrous and despicable terrorist attacks of 9-11 only reinforces the odious view that the Cuban regime has toward Western nations where freedom and democracy thrive," she said.
The first head of state to arrive in Havana for the summit was President Choummaly Sayasone of Laos, one of only five communist governments in the world, along with China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba.
The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in Belgrade in 1961 by Third World nations to try to avoid alignment with either the United States or the Soviet Union. Its founders included Yugoslavia's Josip Broz Tito, India's Jawaharlal Nehru, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and Indonesia's Sukarno.
Since the Cold War ended, the movement has struggled to find a purpose. Experts say it is handicapped by historical, cultural and religious divisions.
The summit serves countries seeking international stature through opposition to the "American empire" at a time when the United States has far fewer friends that it did during the Cold War, said Julia Sweig, Latin America director at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington think tank.
But she added: "There are much more serious challenges to American power than a conference of an organization that few people knew still existed hosted by an island that no longer maintains an activist military foreign policy."
Who wants to bet that Russian and Chinese government agents were there???
Reuters must've felt right at home at this symposium.
What's the name of the Air Force base closest to Cuba? And what munitions do they have? There should be a Drop-Ex before the day is up...
There are several bases in Florida. I think we ought to just invade and annex Cuba, it is great geographically, under American rule we could fix it up. Just do not do a Puerto Rico, give them capitalism not welfare. Even though Puerto Rico is still a million times better than Cuba.
Why is India there?
I was wondering that too. Maybe we have blocked them as a favor to Pakistan?
“The world has encountered new threats – terrorism, interethnic crises and conflicts, uneven economic development, and environmental problems,” run the greetings posed by the Kremlin press service on Friday. “I think that the search for collective solutions would be the most adequate way of reacting to these modern challenges. The search should be conducted not only by particular states but also by regional and international organizations.”
“This is the reason why the Non-Aligned Movement is in such demand nowadays. Over 100 member states display their readiness for a constructive discussion of major problems, a compromise and a collective stand. I am confident that these very principles should make the core of international relations in the 21st century,” the greetings run.
“Russia and the Non-Aligned Movement are brought together by the understanding of their common responsibility for the world future, the wish to overcome the confrontation logic, and the choice of multilateral partnership,” Putin said. “Our relations have a long and rich history. They have been invariably based on mutual respect, a high level of mutual understanding, and the wish to cooperate. We act hand-in-hand at the main international forum, the United Nations. Fair decisions in the reform of the international organization in keeping with modern requirements will meet our interests.”
“The Non-Aligned Movement is not only a key partner to Russia. We view it as a key element of the modern architecture of international relations and hope for further interaction for the benefit of people of our countries and the civilization at large,” the greetings run.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
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