[Leica] Cuba?

[s.dimitrov at charter.net (Slobodan Dimitrov)]

The reaction to Cuba predates any Marxist carbuncle. While currently  
seeming irrational to Europeans, the attitude is firmly grounded in a  
long standing interventionist position, or point of view.
Self determination, within a people who are perceived as a subject  
people, is usually seen as a disease which needs to be cauterized.  
The Caribbean has been a hot bed of self determination from the very  
beginning. With Haiti and Cuba leading the charge.
When I was in the service, I remember Gen. Westmoreland being taken  
out of Viet Nam and given the Southern Command. I thought that at the  
time it was a demotion. But in spit of the Asian hot conflict, the  
Southern Command position was considered more important, hence a reward.
Some time ago, I had the chance to hear a particular speech by Rev.  
James Lawson. It was at an MLK event. He said a sentence which I'll  
never forget, that the job of the US military in Latin America is to  
make sure no 14 year old ever grows up to become a Martin Luther  
King. That speech was made in the late 2000's.
sd


On Jan 4, 2009, at 3:00 AM, Bob W wrote:

>> Some time ago, I became acquainted with a veteran from the Spanish
>> Civil War. He was lucky enough to have been repatriated to
>> the United
>> States. That was before, and just barely, Petain had those interned
>> on the French side of the border sent to the Mauthausen-Gusen camp.
>> So while we were talking, I asked a question for which I could never
>> get a straight answer. That was whether the Mexican
>> contingent in the
>> Republican forces were the largest group of foreign volunteers, as
>> most historical presentation would have it. Without hesitation, he
>> said the Cubans were. I stood there, somewhat transfixed for a
>> moment, and said to him, now it makes sense. That is, the American
>> reaction(s) to Cuba.
>> sd
>
> I don't understand how this makes sense of the US attitude towards  
> Cuba, and
> I'd be grateful if you could explain.
>
> I don't know a great deal about this, but I sutudied a bit of Spanish
> history when I was learning Spanish at college, and some of my school
> teachers were veterans of the civil war. Here is how I figure it -  
> please
> correct me if I've got things wrong:
>
> The Spanish Civil War (73 years ago) was a long time before the Cuban
> revolution (50 years and 3 days ago), and before the revolution  
> Cuba was a
> banana republic client of the USA. Since the USA was neutral about the
> Spanish Civil War it's likely that the Cuban government's position  
> would
> also have been officially neutral, and Cubans who went to Spain  
> would have
> been volunteers, even if unofficially helped by the government.  
> Given the
> historical relationship between Spain and Cuba it would be entirely
> understandable for many Cubans to wish to be involved in the civil  
> war on
> one side or the other, but they would, officially at least, have been
> volunteers who went under their own steam.
>
> The current attitude of the US towards Cuba arises from the time of  
> the
> Cuban revolution and the relationship between Cuba and the then Soviet
> Union. The Cuban revolution did so a great deal of damage to US  
> interests
> over there; Cuba, with Soviet backing, tried to export the  
> revolution to
> other parts of Central and South America, and Cuba became a potential
> bridgehead for the Soviets into the US, so the USA took a hard line  
> about
> relationships with Cuba.
>
> Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the hard line is continued not
> because of any real threat to the US from Cuba, but because of  
> continued
> vested political interests.
>
> I'd be interested to find out why you think the Spanish Civil War has
> anything to do with the US attitude to Cuba.
>
> Bob
>
>
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