Cuba braces for U.S. attack

[Savage]

Cuba braces for U.S. attack

But White House says invasion talk 'absurd’
Source
Updated: 3:55 a.m. ET Aug. 5, 2006

HAVANA - Cuba government has mobilized citizen defense militias, saying it fears a U.S. attack during Fidel Castro’s health crisis, even though the White House insists no such threat exists.

The island’s government, under the control of Castro’s brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, has also asked military reservists to check in daily.

Cubans interviewed on state-run media Friday said they would fight to the death against any invaders from the north, while the Communist Party daily Granma said, “We Cubans are prepared for the defense” of the island.

White House press secretary Tony Snow rejected as “absurd” any suggestion that the United States would attack the island.

“The U.S. has absolutely no designs on invading Cuba,” Snow said in Crawford, Texas, where President Bush was vacationing at his ranch. “Cubans are going to have to chart their destiny. It’s the one thing that they’ve been deprived during the dictatorship of Fidel Castro.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also made a statement Friday, imploring Cubans not to flee to Florida. Her message was being transmitted over U.S. government radio and television stations that are beamed to the island but have limited audiences because of Cuban jamming operations. The message was also picked up on CNN and other major media, where some Cubans were more likely to see it.

Castros out of sight
Neither of the Castros has been seen since Monday’s announcement that Fidel, 79, had undergone surgery and was temporarily ceding power to Raul, 75. No new details were provided on Castro’s condition following the surgery for intestinal bleeding.

Snow said everyone at the White House was “very interested” in Castro’s condition as well as his brother’s whereabouts. “It tells you something about a government that seems to be in hiding at a point like this,” he said.

Cuban Cabinet ministers said Castro was doing well and urged patience.

In Guatemala, Cuban Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer told Radio Sonora that Castro “underwent surgery from which he is recovering satisfactorily.” Balaguer is a longtime Communist Party leader and physician named by Castro to watch over his pet health projects in his absence.

In Havana, Culture Minister Abel Prieto wouldn’t provide any details about Castro’s health but said things were running smoothly in the country.

“This is a society that is functioning, that is working normally,” he said. “People are worried, and wanting to know more about the health of Fidel, but at the same time, they are conducting themselves appropriately.”

He said everyone should wait for Castro himself to provide more information about his condition. As for the younger brother, he said, “Raul will appear in due time ... people know who Raul is.”

Cuban exiles call for U.S. to do more
Some Cuban exiles, seizing on the unprecedented transfer of power, called for the U.S. government to do more to encourage a democratic transition on the island.

William Sanchez, an attorney for the Cuban-American non-profit Democracy Movement, urged Bush to tell Cuba to set an elections timetable and let Cuban-Americans come to the island to help with a political transition.

The Cuban government used such statements by what it calls the “terrorist mafia” in Miami — as well as Bush’s call Thursday for democratic change on the island — to justify its fears of an invasion.

It also expressed sympathy for the Lebanese people’s struggle with their own “aggressor” — Israel. In the first decree to be issued since Castro’s unprecedented transfer of power, the foreign ministry condemned the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana as “cowardly, vile and criminal.”


Rice sends message of U.S. support to Cubans
American officials hope to evade flood of refugees during political unrest
Updated: 1:17 a.m. ET Aug. 5, 2006

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent a message of support to Cubans on Friday, urging them to stay at home to work for “positive change” now that President Fidel Castro’s leadership was in question.

Castro temporarily handed over control of the country to his brother Raul Castro this week while he recovers from intestinal surgery, raising speculation over how much longer Castro will rule the communist island.

“All Cubans who desire peaceful democratic change can count on the support of the United States,” said Rice in a message taped at the State Department in Washington and intended for broadcast via networks that reach the Cuban people.

“We encourage the Cuban people to work at home for positive change, and we stand ready to provide you with humanitarian assistance as you begin to chart a new course for your country,” the top U.S. diplomat added.

The United States is anxious to avoid a flood of refugees amid the political uncertainty that has followed Castro’s illness, and Rice made clear Cubans should not attempt to cross the Florida Straits to reach the United States.

“Clearly we believe that Cubans should stay in Cuba and be a part of what will be a transition to democracy,” said Rice in an interview that aired on MSNBC-TV’s “Hardball.”

Referring to the handover in power to Castro’s brother, Rice said it was not acceptable to “go from one dictator to another” and the Cuban people deserved better.

Snow: No plans to invade Cuba
A U.S. government report by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba recommended a month ago the United States act fast to boost a transitional government in Cuba when Castro’s rule ends and get advisers on the ground within weeks.

U.S. officials say this plan has not been activated and White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday the United States was still trying to assess the situation in Cuba and no changes were planned in overall policy at this point.

Snow also sought to reassure Cubans the United States would not use the uncertainty surrounding Castro’s illness to invade the communist island.

‘More than just a close neighbor’
Rice’s taped message is intended to be broadcast on Radio Marti, a Miami-based network which transmits Spanish language broadcasts to Cuba.

However, few Cubans are likely to receive the message via the U.S.-funded network as Cuba successfully jams the TV Marti signal and most of Radio Marti broadcasts in Cuban cities. The message is more likely to reach Cubans via commercial Miami-based stations which they get through pirate satellites.

Rice urged all democratic nations to join together to call for the release of political prisoners in Cuba and a transition that quickly leads to multi-party elections there.

“It has long been the hope of the United States that a free, independent and democratic Cuba would be more than just a close neighbor — it would be a close friend,” said Rice.

Source