Castro says Saddam's mistakes did not justify U.S.-led war

[Judi Lynn]

Castro says Saddam's mistakes did not justify U.S.-led war

ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Writer Monday, December 22, 2003



(12-22) 22:54 PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --

Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he repeatedly warned Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait after the 1990 invasion but that the former Iraqi dictator's "mistakes" did not justify the U.S.-led war.

Castro, who was in Venezuela for one day to meet with leftist President Hugo Chavez, said he tried on numerous occasions to persuade Saddam to withdraw from Kuwait, warning the Iraqi leader that, not just Western countries, but also Arab nations, would turn against him.

Castro called Saddam's invasion of Iran "absolutely unjust," during an interview late Monday with Venezuela's state-run television station, Venezolana de Television.

"The other big mistake that never should have been made was the occupation of Kuwait," he added, wearing his olive-green fatigues for the interview on Venezuela's La Orchila island. (snip)

(snip) But Castro said the American-led pre-emptive strike had imposed an international "law of the jungle."
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/12/22/international0154EST0426.DTL

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Judi Lynn]

2. The butcher dictator in Cuba was the U.S. supported Fulgencio Batista

A quick reference to a recent article:

Welles' discovered an ideal leader, Fulgencio Batista, an army sergeant whose main virtue was loyalty to the Americans. With a new surrogate in power, Washington repealed the Platt Amendment, but kept the base at Guantanamo.

Cuba became "democratic." Elected governments obedient to Washington felt "free" to steal from the Cuban people, as successive Presidents and their entourages did, without serious disapproval from Washington. In 1952, Batista staged a fraudulent election and made himself President again. In the ensuing years, Batista tortured, murdered and imprisoned dissidents, but behaved obsequiously to the power in Washington and the Mafia in Havana.

When revolutionary anger manifested itself throughout the island, the United States allowed the dictator to use its Guantanamo base to refuel and provide bullets and bombs for his planes, which bombed supposed rebel positions -- often defenseless rural areas and towns that suspected of "sympathy" with the rebels.
(snip/...)

http://www.counterpunch.org/landau12202003.html

[Name removed]

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[Judi Lynn]

4. Maybe you can supply some valid links to your charges.

You'd have many interested readers.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[Judi Lynn]

6. You're spouting Miami propaganda.

Intelligent people most definitely would like some information behind your emotional labels.

Wouldn't be right to take your word for it. What would help is some reading from actual valid information pointing to proof of your charges.

Here's an example of a link to valid information. It describes CIA officials' belief that Cuba presents no threat to our interests, here's a snippet:

(snip)The CIA believes there are many reasons Cubans are content to remain in their homeland. Some don’t
want to be separated from home, family and friends. Some fear they would never be able to return, and still
others just fear change in general. Officials also say there is a reservoir of loyalty to Fidel Castro and, as in
the case of Juan Miguel Gonzalez, to the Communist Party.

U.S. officials say they no longer regard Cuba as a totalitarian state with aggressive policies toward its people,
but instead an authoritarian state, where the public can operate within certain bounds — just not push the envelope.

More important, Cuban media and Cuban culture long ago raised the banner of nationalism above that of
Marxism.

The intelligence community says the battle over Elian has presented Castro with a “unique opportunity” to
enhance that nationalism.

There is no indication, U.S. officials say, of any nascent rebellion about to spill into the streets, no great
outpouring of support for human rights activists in prison. In fact, there are fewer than 100 activists on the island
and a support group of perhaps 1,000 more, according to U.S. officials. (snip/...)

http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/cuba/loyal.htm

[OldSoldier]

7. It's bad when Castro holds the moral high ground

We have a thug running Cuba, a thug ran Iraq until Bush conducted his coup there, and a thug running the United States. Too many thugs here.

And of the thugs, it's pretty bad when Fidel Castro is the most moral. But, unfortunately, he's right on this issue.

It's going to be pretty bad if Saddam Hussein comes out of this looking better than Bush does.

[Mika]

8. It good for Cubans when Castro holds the high ground

Castro a thug? Ha!

Are the following stats the hallmarks of a thug?


Learn from Cuba, says World Bank
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/learn.htm

World Bank President James Wolfensohn Monday extolled the Communist government of President Fidel Castro for doing “a great job” in providing for the social welfare of the Cuban people.


It <Cuba> has reduced its infant mortality rate from 11 per 1,000 births in 1990 to seven in 1999, which places it firmly in the ranks of the western industrialised nations. It now stands at six, according to Jo Ritzen, the Bank’s Vice President for Development Policy, who visited Cuba privately several months ago to see for himself.

-

For the entire Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole, the average was 30 in 1999.

Similarly, the mortality rate for children under the age of five in Cuba has fallen from 13 to eight per thousand over the decade. That figure is 50% lower than the rate in Chile, the Latin American country closest to Cuba’s achievement. For the region as a whole, the average was 38 in 1999.

“Six for every 1,000 in infant mortality - the same level as Spain - is just unbelievable,” according to Ritzen, a former education minister in the Netherlands. “You observe it, and so you see that Cuba has done exceedingly well in the human development area.”

And education too,

Indeed, in Ritzen’s own field, the figures tell much the same story. Net primary enrolment for both girls and boys reached 100% in 1997, up from 92% in 1990.  

That was as high as most developed nations - higher even than the US rate and well above 80-90% rates achieved by the most advanced Latin American countries.

-

The average youth (age 15-24) illiteracy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean stands at 7%. In Cuba, the rate is zero. In Latin America, where the average is 7%, only Uruguay approaches that achievement, with one percent youth illiteracy.

“Cuba managed to reduce illiteracy from 40% to zero within ten years,” said Ritzen. “If Cuba shows that it is possible, it shifts the burden of proof to those who say it’s not possible.”

Similarly, Cuba devoted 9.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) during the 1990s to health care, roughly equivalent to Canada’s rate. Its ratio of 5.3 doctors per 1,000 people was the highest in the world.

[dave46]

10. So having a high literacy rate

is a greater accomplishment than basic human freedoms and rights? I think I'll stay in the states. He's a thug, sure, his control has brought many good forms of stability, but for some reason you leave out all the bad...

[Mika]

12. So high quality health care and education are not basic human rights?

Only in Amerika.



Only in America would people think that one man, Castro, "forced" health care and education on Cubans and their children. That is truly laughable.

[toopers]

25. Please tell me . . .

where is government provided healthcare listed as a basic right in our constitution?

[toopers]

27. excuse me, I mis-typed . . .

where is healthcare sited as a basic right in the Bill of Rights?

[Mika]

31. Who's bill of rights?

Not America's.

[toopers]

44. Exactly,

and it should not be.

[GRClarkesq]

9. Castro is no threat to the US

but he could treat his people a lot better. Hopefully Cuba can see some positive change when he finally leaves the change.

[Mika]

11. What the hell are you talking about?

"Hopefully Cuba can see some positive change when he finally leaves the change.


Go look at my prior post on the World Bank stats on Cuba's health care and education standards.

Maybe the American government could treat its people "a lot better". Maybe Americans should clean up their own litter covered back yard before complaining about the neighbor's grass.

Silly me.. that would require some education.


Here's what Batista forced on Cubans,

What Castro Found

75% of rural dwellings were huts made from palm trees.

More than 50% had no toilets of any kind.

85% had no inside running water.

91% had no electricity.

There was only 1 doctor per 2,000 people in rural areas.

More than one-third of the rural population had intestinal parasites.

Only 4% of Cuban peasants ate meat regularly; only 1% ate fish, less than 2% eggs, 3% bread, 11% milk; none ate green vegetables.

The average annual income among peasants was $91 (1956), less than 1/3 of the national income per person.

45% of the rural population was illiterate; 44% had never attended a school.

Even for most city dwellers, life was not all that rosy.

25% of the labor force was chronically unemployed.

1 million people were illiterate ( in a population of about 5.5 million).

27% of urban children, not to speak of 61% of rural children, were not attending school.

Racial discrimination was widespread.

The public school system had deteriorated badly.

Corruption was endemic; anyone could be bought, from a Supreme Court judge to a cop.

Police brutality and torture were common.


Read post #8 and then tell us that again, with a straight face.

[GRClarkesq]

13. I was speaking of political freedom

I not defending Batista of all people, but Castro could do better than he is now, a lot better.

[Mika]

15. Then, you don't know what is going on in Cuba NOW

No point in living in the past, regurgitating the old cold war propaganda.

Its time to get on the ball.

In 1976 Cuba changed over to a parliamentary democracy, by popular vote..

Here are some of the major parties in Cuba. The union parties hold the majority of seats in the Assembly.

http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/cu.html

* Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) {Communist Party of Cuba}
* Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Cuba (PDC) {Christian Democratic Party of Cuba} - Oswaldo Paya's Catholic party
* Partido Solidaridad Democrática (PSD) {Democratic Solidarity Party}
* Partido Social Revolucionario Democrático Cubano {Cuban Social Revolutionary Democratic Party}
* Coordinadora Social Demócrata de Cuba (CSDC) {Social Democratic Coordination of Cuba}
* Unión Liberal Cubana {Cuban Liberal Union}

Plenty of info on this long thread,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=6300&forum=DCForumID70


http://www.poptel.org.uk/cuba-solidarity/democracy.htm

This system in Cuba is based upon universal adult suffrage for all those aged 16 and over. Nobody is excluded from voting, except convicted criminals or those who have left the country. Voter turnouts have usually been in the region of 95% of those eligible .

There are direct elections to municipal, provincial and national assemblies, the latter represent Cuba's parliament.

Electoral candidates are not chosen by small committees of political parties. No political party, including the Communist Party, is permitted to nominate or campaign for any given candidates.

--

Representative Fidel Castro was elected to the National Assembly as a representative of District #7 Santiago de Cuba.
He is one of the elected 607 representatives in the Cuban National Assembly. It is from that body that the head of state is nominated and then elected. Raul Castro, Carlos Large, and Ricardo Alarcon and others were among the nominated last year. President Castro has been elected to that position since 1976.

http://www.bartleby.com/65/do/Dorticos.html

Dorticós Torrado, Osvaldo

1919–83, president of Cuba (1959–76). A prosperous lawyer, he participated in Fidel Castro’s revolutionary movement and was imprisoned (1958). He escaped and fled to Mexico, returning to Cuba after Castro’s triumph (1959). As minister of laws (1959) he helped to formulate Cuban policies. He was appointed president in 1959. Intelligent and competent, he wielded considerable influence. In 1976 the Cuban government was reorganized, and Castro assumed the title of president; Dorticós was named a member of the council of state.

The Cuban government was reorganized (approved by popular vote) into a variant parliamentary system in 1976.

You can read a short version of the Cuban system here,
http://members.attcanada.ca/~dchris/CubaFAQ.html#Democracy

Or a long and detailed version here,
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0968508405/qid=1053879619/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-8821757-1670550?v=glance&s=books

[GRClarkesq]

33. Castro has had a real good run at being reelected

Almost TOO good, suspicious people might wonder.

[Mika]

34. Just a couple of years longer than Maggie Thatcher or Pierre Trudeau

But then again, Castro is a national hero. He wasn't a fratboy who dodged his duty to his country.. he led the charge for freedom against American backed puppet dictatorships.

As soon as America stops threatening Cuba, Cubans won't feel the need for a strong figurehead for their country.

[GRClarkesq]

35. Umm yeah - Castro will just go away for the good of the people

I bet he can think of a reason to stay in power even if the US completely reversed its Cuba policy.

[Mika]

45. Umm yeah.Like the Cuban people aren't capable of running him outta there

After all, Cubans ran a powerful & brutal fully US backed Batista out. To think that Castro could just replace Batista and continue the brutality against the people of Cuba is ludicrous. Cubans in Cuba wouldn't take that crap for long.

Of course, because most "free" Americans are banned from going to Cuba by their own "free" government, they just don't know how much President Castro is revered by Cubans. Kinda like the way George Washington is revered here (except that Castro never owned nor raped slaves), but, Castro is alive, and is an active representative, so Cubans in District #7 in the city of Santiago de Cuba continue to support his run for their representative as they have since 1976.


Long live the free and democratic Cuba!

[GRClarkesq]

67. So Mika, has the illustrious Castro ever done ANYTHING wrong?

Just wondering?

[Mika]

72. Are you being serious?

I'm not pro Castro as the Bush apologists accuse anyone who disagrees with the Bush Doctrine (just like they painted the anti Iraq war crowd as 'pro Saddam').

What Castro has done wrong to and in Cuba is the Cuban people's business, not ours.

What should be asked is, what part in the mistreatment of Cubans over the years has our signature on it. What have we done to wrong them? Over the last century, starting with the Platt Amendment, plenty.



Its time to end the ridiculous sanctions on Cuba and Americans. Its time for our government to heed the will of the majority of the people and their representatives who want to end the sanctions.

[Osolomia]

17. Yes, Cuba would be doing a lot better if Democrats* weren't trying

to starve them to death and threatening to overthrow their country to this day.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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[GRClarkesq]

16. Cuba policy held hostage by south Florida

Move all the Cuban-Americans to Montana and you would not have this problem.

[Osolomia]

18. So long as Dems* let the Miami mafia walk all over them they will

Evidently you choose to ignore the overwhelming MAJORITY of Americans on this issue and prefer to pander the tiny minority instead.

Dems have no one to blame but themselves if their minority stance backfires.

[Mika]

19. Our Cuba policy is held hostage by pandering Dems

And the 'Big Dog' used to be panderer in chief.


CANF founder and Clinton fundraiser Jorge Mas Canosa & Bill Clinton

---

Sadly, only ONE candidate for US president openly states that he would end this unjust and insane policy against Cuba AND Americans.

That candidate is Dennis Kucinich.

-The Democratic Presidential Candidates on Cuba-
http://www.lawg.org/pages/new%20pages/Misc/prez-candidates1.htm

[Osolomia]

20. The MAJORITY of Cuban-Americans want the embargo lifted

but evidently the Dems choose to ignore such well documented facts in order to justify their hypocritical support for the Bush Doctrine.

SHAME!

[Mika]

21. Here's some polls on that

The Majority of Americans poll
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=770

-

Poll: Cubans' focus is local
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/6269237.htm

The majority of Cuban Americans living in Miami-Dade County are more concerned with improving their lives in the United States than with issues in Cuba, according to a recent poll commissioned by a national Hispanic voter-registration group.


Overall, 62 percent of the 600 Cuban Americans polled said that spending time and money improving their quality of life in this country was more important than working to remove the regime of Cuban President Fidel Castro.


The group that was most likely to focus on local concerns over international ones comprised those who were children -- or not yet born -- when Castro took power in 1959. Seventy-two percent of those 45 and younger voiced that opinion.


''The younger generation, I think, is looking forward to things, while the elderly are still looking back,'' said Alvaro Fernandez, Florida director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, a nonpartisan group that commissioned the poll through its research arm, the William C. Velazquez Institute.


''They've put down roots, they're raising families, and they care about things like education,'' Fernandez said.

[Muddleoftheroad]

22. Hilarious

Yet another dictator saying, "Don't invade me!"

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[Muddleoftheroad]

26. Castro is a murdering fascist dictator

I oppose all such scum home and abroad.

[Osolomia]

30. Dem supporters of the Bush Doctrine are hypocritical bigots

I oppose all such scum home and abroad.

[Muddleoftheroad]

37. So do I

At least we have common cause somewhere.

[Mika]

32. Gee, I though you said that he is a commie dictator before

I also oppose all scum at home and abroad.

Viva Democratic Cuba!

[Muddleoftheroad]

38. Democratic Cuba

I hope I live to see the day.

[Osolomia]

41. It's the lack of "democracy" in the USA that's the problem

I hope to live to see the day of a "democratic USA" with fair elections and freedom of the press and the freedom to see and judge Cuba for ourselves on the basis of fact not fantasy!

[Muddleoftheroad]

43. Both are

I value democracy both places.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

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[Muddleoftheroad]

48. I hate dictators and wannabe dictators

Castro is the former, * the latter.

[Zhade]

57. Then why in the world do you support Ariel Sharon?

NT!

[Muddleoftheroad]

65. For starters, he's not a dictator

He was legitimately elected by a legitimate democracy to handle an external threat.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

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[rman]

55. i don't think there's much corporatism in Cuba

Castro seems to be more of a murdering socialist kind of dictator. He probably doesn't have to worry about basic day to day survival, but he's not with the super wealthy elite.

Of the two dictators Bush and Castro, who do you think has more killings on his concious, and who takes better care of his people (on average, not just the top 1%)?
And who's the fascist?

[Osolomia]

63. Please provide a shred of evidence to your "murdering" claims

since even the US State Dept. can't find anything that even comes close!

[Osolomia]

69. Still can't find a shred of credible evidence to your claims eh?

yet the lies and bullshit continue to be spewed like gospel on DU. Go figure!

[dave46]

24. High literacy rates and good health care

are great to have. But Castro leaves out a lot of basic rights as well. You honestly believe that the Cuban government allows more freedom for its people? If so, how?

[Mika]

28. Maybe, just maybe, you'll read post #15

And the links therein.

" You honestly believe that the Cuban government allows more freedom for its people? If so, how?"


More than what? Cubans are far better off than most of the people in the Caribbean, and most of the Latin Americas.

I've been to Cuba several times, including during the 1997-98 election season. Cubans are entirely free to set their own path. The economy is the greatest limiting factor. That's where the US travel sanctions come in. If Cuba wasn't kept off limits to Americans by the US gov, the Cuban economy would be flourishing. More jobs, more money, more press, more radio and TV etc etc.


Its far past time end the abrogation of our rights, to end travel sanctions on Americans who want to learn the truth about Cuba, and to pull the blinders off of American's eyes.

[Zhade]

58. Amen.

Its far past time end the abrogation of our rights, to end travel sanctions on Americans who want to learn the truth about Cuba, and to pull the blinders off of American's eyes.

The number of otherwise-progressive people who still swallow the government line about Cuba without question is alarming, and actually quite sad.

[Osolomia]

29. Perhaps if the Dems* let you see Cuba for yourself you'd know!

snip/...

Cuban governance is founded on a rejection of conventional electoral politics, on the grounds that it creates a "class of politicians" and "divorces economics from politics." Instead, the ruling Communist party plays the role of guide, "channeling the plurality" of views and interests. While influential, the Communist party does not wield direct administrative power. Each time the party holds a congress, massive nation-wide discussions are held, providing a venue for people to voice concerns and discuss a variety of issues and giving substance to the party's guiding role.

Saney writes: "The 1991 congress was preceded by discussions involving 3.5 million Cubans... more than a million people in 89,000 meetings directly raised more than 500 issues and concerns," ranging from the structure of the party to foreign policy.

The Cuban electorate is divided into 14,946 circumscriptions, each consisting of a few hundred people. In street meetings that typically see a high degree of participation, each circumscription elects a representative. These delegates, along with representatives of a variety of "mass organizations"--civil groups, student associations, and unions--form commissions which spend over a year selecting from thousands of candidates to ensure that all of Cuban society is represented in the provincial and national assemblies. The Communist party is prohibited from participating in the selection process.

These recommendations are then submitted to municipal assemblies for approval. Each Cuban citizen is presented with a list of 601 candidates which they can vote either for or against. To be a representative in the national assembly, each candidate--including Fidel Castro--must receive at least 50 per cent of the vote in her constituency.

Critics must at least concede, argues Saney, that the current system is more democratic than any other in Cuba's history. Fidel Castro has said that this movement towards the "parliamentarization of society" sidesteps the divisiveness of the "dominant model" of western governance, creating "a democracy that really unites people and gives viability to what is most important and essential, which is public participation in fundamental issues." Saney, it seems, agrees. He ends the chapter with an observation that must read as truly bizarre to Canadians and Americans: "those who have the most money do not have political power, as they have no support among the masses and, thus, do not offer up candidates in the elections."

More...
http://dominionpaper.ca/features/2003/12/22/understand.html

[dave46]

39. Yes Castro has brought stability

to the economy. But what kind of say do the people have in the government?

[Muddleoftheroad]

40. Dictators naturally bring stability

[Terwilliger]

49. well, the US usally supports dictators...why not this one?

OH YEAH! Because he's not one of our "allied" dictators.

[Muddleoftheroad]

50. That not any sort of defense

The U.S. should be MORE moral in its foreign policy, not less. So let's have nothing to do not just with Cuba, but other dictators as well. Mugabe anyone?

[Osolomia]

51. So long as Dems cling to ignorant fantasies and ignore the facts

you don't have a moral leg to stand on and continue to look like complete idiots on the world stage that has been unanimously condemning US hostility against Cuba for over a decade now based on facts not fantasy.

[Muddleoftheroad]

52. The U.S. is entitled to trade with whom it wishes

And to NOT trade with others, especially non-democratic nations like Castro's Cuba. Frankly, I wish we would take such action more, not less.

[Zhade]

60. Did you support the sanctions against Iraq?

You know, the ones that led to half a million dead Iraqis?

[Osolomia]

62. The MAJORITY of Americans want trade with Cuba

The MAJORITY in the House, the MAJORITY in the Senate, the MAJORITY in State Legislatures, the MAJORITY in many other organizations, the MAJORITY of Cuban-Americans, the MAJORITY of Americans-Americans, but evidently many Dems* prefer to ignore the MAJORITY and cling to their cold war fantasies instead. What a shame.

[Osolomia]

66. More evidence in today's news bigots must ignore to defend their fantasy

Sparks touts open trade as solution for Cubans, Alabamians

By KYLE WINGFIELD
Associated Press Writer

MONTGOMERY, Ala. --
State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks on Tuesday called on the federal government to lift its economic embargoes on Cuba, saying Cubans and Americans alike could benefit from open trade.

Sparks, who last week made his second trip to the island nation to tout Alabama timber, cotton, poultry and other products, said the United States should normalize trade relations with Cuba as it has with Russia, China, Vietnam and Korea

More...
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031223/APN/312230942

[Zhade]

59. True that.

It is rather disgusting that so many ignorant Americans support policies condemned by the rest of the informed world and affecting places they know nothing about - or know only what the USG tells them to think.

[rman]

56. Not Bush he doesn't

Unless you think war is stability.

I think the only war Castro ever was in, was when he defended himself against the US with that rediculous thing the CIA tried to pull off in the Bay of Pigs.

[Osolomia]

42. Evidently you refuse to read the links provided that address your question

so typical of Dem* supporters of the Bush Doctrine.

[Mika]

47. Dave46. Why not try reading some of the posted links?

Instead of asking the question over and over, why not give the links a try? Post #15 and others has links that describe the electoral system in Cuba. Go ahead, be daring.. click them.

[Minstrel Boy]

53. US Cuban policy has been equal parts travesty and tragedy since

"Remember the Maine!"

And for the past 45 years, it's inflicted the most grievous harm upon the United States itself. That many Democrats make the same mistakes, one generation to the next, is unpardonable.


Cuban and Canadian participants in Havana's May Day parade
For many years, Cuba has encouraged visits by friendship groups of people of all ages, from around the world, who are interested in learning more about the Cuban Revolution. The annual May Day march is an important moment for Cuba's foreign friends to show their solidarity with the Cuban people. - From the Canadian Embassy website

[ScotTissue]

54. WHAT MISTAKES?

Hussein did a lot of bad shit, but i don't think he ever did so mistakenly.

[Zhade]

61. There is only one I can think of...

...invading Kuwait with the impression that the United States wouldn't mind - a not-unreasonable conclusion on his part:

On July 25, 1990, eight days before Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait, U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie met with Saddam Hussein. According to a transcript of the conversation later released to the British press by Iraq, Saddam explained his strategic claims on Iran and Kuwait and asked: "What is the United States' opinion on this?"

The tape transcript records Glaspie's reply: "We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960s, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America."

The Iraqi leader, believing he'd been given the green light, pounced.

The rest of his inhumane actions were certainly calculated and intentional, though. At least, as far as the evidence has shown so far - and I doubt that there will be any forthcoming evidence to exonerate Hussein. He was a brutal dictator, no question.

[durutti]

64. Cuba will be next.

Watch.

[Osolomia]

70. With the complicity of lying hypocritical Dems

the proof is in the pudding before your eyes.

[ParticipatoryDem]

68. Castro calling acts of pure evil "mistakes" is very telling

Castro never met a dictator he didn't like. His iron fist on the political freedoms of Cubans is disgusting and evil in itself.

The sooner he is gone the better off the Cuban people will be.

[Osolomia]

71. The ignorance of so many Dems* is very telling

and an absolutely "unpardonable" disgrace in this bushwacked internet age.