POLITICS: New Twist on an Old Theme - Cuba Holds Military Exercise

In a flash back to the Cold-war Cuba is to hold what they call "Massive" wargames starting Monday. General Leonardo Andollo, said the exercise's meant to be a warning to Washington that Cuba would vigorously defend itself against US aggression.



With these words accusing the United States of wanting to destroy the Cuban revolution Andollo has communicated an abject fear of the Cuban regime of events to come after the passing of Castro who single handedly holds the Cuban government together.

Andollo has attempted to tranfer this fear of the U.S. to the Cuban people in a fashion reminiscent of the Cold-war years and the fear propagandized on both sides of that conflict.

I have never understood the American problem with Cuba. America goes half way around the world (China) to make trade deals because of the potential market and yet starves another communist country at its own back door.

Cuba has no history of massive internment, slave (prison) labor or the other sins of the Chinese. It must be that Cuba is non-threatening.

The U.S. And Cuba would both benefit from normalized relations. I suspect the Cuba-lobby in Miami, Florida has a lot to do with the state of affairs. The Oligarchs never forgave Castro from taking their plantations from them.

Cuba still has much to fear. A look at Iraq will convince anyone that whatever excuse needs to be made will be made.

I suppose the only way Castro can motivate the armed forces is to trot out the old fear of the US invading... (yes, yes, I know about the Bay of Pigs, but surely Castro knows very well such a move would be out of the question today).

Essentially, we're all waiting for Castro to pass on. He is the obstacle. Then there will be a new government and a rapprochement with the US. This won't be easy, because the US on behalf of various 1950's businesses, not to mention former-residents-living-in-Florida Cuba have a lot of economic claims against Cuba. But it will come to pass, and the claims will be sorted out somehow.

I believe that Cuba is a natural enemy of the US because a successful Cuba, even if friendly to the USA, hurts America's ability to exploit the Carribean, which is a beautiful and fertile area where a great deal of money can be made.
Let me explain briefly:
Cuba is quite possibly the only nation in the Carribean with the size and population capacity to support a strong economy and perhaps even become a regional hegemon, spreading this strong economy throughout the islands.
This is not good for the interests of wealthy Americans. Our travel and entertainment industries make money and our wealthy have a great deal of fun at a better price because the nations of that region have weak currency.
Strategically we are under much less pressure both economically and militarily when these nations lack appreciable airforces and navies because with proper support they are positioned to control access to the Southern United States and Eastern Mexico. Although the possibility fo such problems is remote to say the least, why should we open the door for it at all when we make money by disallowing it?

It also gives us a strategic stranglehold on Mexico. Nobody can back Mexico against us while that part of the world is ours. America can easily control the Baja peninsula and the Carribean with minimal ground forces and strangle Mexico to death if we ever needed to and China would be powerless to offer them assistance. Again we will probably never need it, but it's better to have a weapon you dont need than to need a weapon you don't have.

Originally posted by The Vagabond
Nobody can back Mexico against us while that part of the world is ours. America can easily control the Baja peninsula and the Carribean with minimal ground forces and strangle Mexico to death if we ever needed to and China would be powerless to offer them assistance. Again we will probably never need it, but it's better to have a weapon you dont need than to need a weapon you don't have.

It never ceases to amaze me that the Mods allow this type of inflammatory rhetoric against Mexico. What does Mexico have to do with the title of this thread? Need I remind The Vagabond that Mexico is an American ally? That Mexico has a trade embargo on Chinese goods? To threaten to 'strangle Mexico to death' is offensive to Mexican-Americans! On this day of the Virgin Guadalupe, it would be more appropriate to thank Mexico for the strategic support its Navy, Air Force and Army provide to US Forces in the Hemisphere and worldwide.

!Viva Mexico! Viva Guadalupe! Viva America!

I forgive you, The Vagabond. Please recognize your strategic friends.

Inflammatory? I didn't use any slurs, I didn't claim they were inferior, and I didn't even claim that we were enemies. I stated a simple fact that it is generally advantageous to be in a position of power and that America possess that advantage which ensures that no rival power could ever court Mexico as Germany attempted to with the Zimmerman note.
I will be gravely offended if I recieve a red tag as the result of Chakotay's sensitivity to these points which I hasten to say were made with aboslutely no malice towards our nieghbors to the south whom I have visited on several occasions and whom I frequently am partnered with at work.

Originally posted by Chakotay

Originally posted by The Vagabond
Nobody can back Mexico against us while that part of the world is ours. America can easily control the Baja peninsula and the Carribean with minimal ground forces and strangle Mexico to death if we ever needed to and China would be powerless to offer them assistance. Again we will probably never need it, but it's better to have a weapon you dont need than to need a weapon you don't have.

To threaten to 'strangle Mexico to death' is offensive to Mexican-Americans! On this day of the Virgin Guadalupe, it would be more appropriate to thank Mexico for the strategic support its Navy, Air Force and Army provide to US Forces in the Hemisphere and worldwide.

!Viva Mexico! Viva Guadalupe! Viva America!

I forgive you, The Vagabond. Please recognize your strategic friends.

I appreciate your forgiveness and hope that it is offered out of recognition for the fact that I do not truly percieve Mexico as an enemy or an inferior nation. Much to the contrary, Mexico is strategically vital to America's survival- which we may very well owe to them for their victory over the French.
I continue to believe that it is purdent to be in a strategic position to withstand aggression from such a vital neighbor- not as a threat but as a prudent measure in recogniton of the fact that they are a sovreign nation with a right to persue their national interests. To not be aware of this unlikely potential is to take Mexico forgranted as a puppet of ours, which they are not.

If I must lie to Chakotay in the interest of peace between us and claim that Mexico is America's harmless pet then i will say that, but I will be lying through my teeth.

[edit on 12-12-2004 by The Vagabond]

Vagabond I thought you were being kind!

The U.S. 'south' of Mexico is where the real problems would come with an open Cuba policy. Central America has long been hammered by American interests (Walker, Vanderbilt, etc.)

I agree with your assessment of Cuba's potential. Since JFK the entire Cuban/U.S. relationship has been wasteful.

Originally posted by JoeDoaks
I have never understood the American problem with Cuba. America goes half way around the world (China) to make trade deals because of the potential market and yet starves another communist country at its own back door.

Cuba has no history of massive internment, slave (prison) labor or the other sins of the Chinese. It must be that Cuba is non-threatening.

The U.S. And Cuba would both benefit from normalized relations. I suspect the Cuba-lobby in Miami, Florida has a lot to do with the state of affairs. The Oligarchs never forgave Castro from taking their plantations from them.

Cuba still has much to fear. A look at Iraq will convince anyone that whatever excuse needs to be made will be made.

The only one that is starving Cubans is fidel castro (his name does not deserve to be capitalized) while he becomes richer. BTW.....there is enslavement in Cuba, but communists, including castro, call it paying for the education and all the "supposedly free stuff" that Cubans get like medical attention which is worth crap....

Children from a very early age to about I think it's 18 years old have to work in summer camps harvesting all the food that castro sells to other countries.... That is enslavement of children... Those children that harvest all this food cannot eat it, they normally return home, after the summer ends, full of fleas and malnourished....

Now, if you explain what you mean when you said..... "I suspect the Cuba-lobby in Miami, Florida has a lot to do with the state of affairs."

Do you mean that the Cubans who suffered under the "dictatorship of a communist" are lying and there is no "dictatorship" in Cuba?.....

And for your information the "oligards" in Cuba were, and are not the only ones who suffered and are suffering in Cuba, most Cubans are suffering except those very close and few communists that work for castro.

Oh btw....if any U.S. president and administration ever decide to invade Cuba... Most Cubans will help the American invasion anyway they can..if only they had the weapons they would have done so already, but fidel being smart before securing power, disarmed most Cubans. You want to set up a dictatorship in a country?, one of the first things you do is disarm the people.

I will have to agree with what most of what Muaddib states. Living in Miami, we may see a different perspective on the issues in Cuba because much of our population here is Cuban.

I believe the military excercises are to be expected by this struggling dictator and his pawn government. It is done to flex power and often to continue feeding his propaganda. I do not know all of which castro is preaching to the people, but I assure you it is not good about the US and our charge into the middle east. I would expect that he will use fear to win people over at any opportunity.

There are many people suffering in Cuba and the hopes of Castros death cannot be understated. There are commando groups that have trained here for years even receiving local news coverage in the hopes that they may one day have an opportunity to release their country from fidel. Though that opportunity will not happen, the real opportunity arises with the death of fidel castro and new leadership. This does not promise a better relationship, but does offer new hope. The government has changed the policy on the amount of money that people in the US can send to Cuba as the past amount was seeming to have an effect on strengthing the economy and the US does not want this to occur. Another problem that currently exists is with US citizens starting export companies out of Canada and Mexico to ship goods into castros supermall. I hate to see the people in Cuba suffer. That island has so much promise as a real money maker for gambling, beaches, and fishing. I personally look forward to a brighter future with a new refined government chosen by the citizens of Cuba.