Posted on 10/18/2001 2:36:13 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON -- Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday the closing of his government's huge eavesdropping facility in Cuba, an intelligence site that has been a source of political friction between Moscow and the United States for nearly four decades.
For Cuba, the decision to close the electronic listening post at Lourdes, just outside of Havana, represents another financial blow because of the estimated $200 million in rent paid annually by Russia, which said it could no longer afford the expense.
The site was a crucial Soviet asset throughout the Cold War, and afterward for Russia, because it could monitor virtually all non-land telephone line communications in the southeastern United States as far as Washington.
The base occupies about 28 square miles and houses approximately 1,500 Russian engineers, technicians and soldiers, as well as their families, according to a variety of government sources.
The principal listening devices constitute a large ``antenna farm,'' mostly of the parabolic variety but with a few vertical towers as well. Together, they download communications signals and feed them to a couple of buildings where computers process the signals and analysts try to decipher them.
The sophisticated electronic equipment is employed to intercept telephone calls, faxes and information exchanges by computer, according to documents and testimony presented to Congress. Moscow also has used the facility to communicate with surface and submarine units of its fleet, as well as for communications with its embassies in the Americas.
It's demise serves as a political farewell from Russia to its former Cold War ally, analysts said.
``It's the conclusion of what began [with the Cold War],'' said Luis Aguilar León, a professor at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. ``The Soviet Union came with the missiles and the Russians are leaving with a smile.''
Cuban officials in Washington declined to comment on Moscow's announcement, saying official reaction would come from Havana. None was immediately offered by Fidel Castro or any other government official. Russian authorities also confirmed that it would pull out of its military base at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, in operation since 1979.
Moscow's decision to dismantle the base in Cuba immediately strengthened the relationship between Washington and Moscow, which already had gotten a boost from Putin's public support for President Bush's anti-terrorism campaign following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.
``I welcome President Putin's announcement . . . that Russia will close its military intelligence-gathering facility . . .,'' Bush said in a statement released in Washington Wednesday. ``This decision is another indication that the Cold War is over.
``President Putin understands that Russia and America are no longer adversaries; we do not judge our successes by how much it complicates life for the other country,'' Bush stated. ``Instead, both nations are taking down relics of the Cold War and building a new, cooperative and transparent relationship for the 21st century.''
The move by Russia raised speculation that China would now take the lead in covert operations on the island. The Chinese are alleged to have built an identical eavesdropping facility in Cuba known as Bejucal.
The 2-year-old post in Havana province is believed to be capable of both eavesdropping and ``cyber-warfare.''
For Cuba, the closing of the Lourdes base represents both a financial and political humiliation because Russia is believed to pay about $200 million a year for use of the site in both hard currency and other subsidies, primarily military spare parts for Cuban military equipment.
Cuba already is suffering from a decline in both the tourism industry and remittances, a combination that has provided the island with an infusion of dollars and served as the backbone of an ailing economy within the past decade.
The decline has been compounded by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which have weakened both travel and money transfers by wire. Cuba also has seen a decline in prices for exports such and nickel and sugar.
``It could not have come at a worse time,'' said María Dolores Espino an economist at St. Thomas University and expert on Cuba's economy.
For Cubans on the island that means ``hard times ahead,'' Espino said.
Russian chief of staff Anatoly Kvashnin told reporters in Moscow the decision to close the Lourdes base was for financial reasons and it would be dismantled ``this year.''
``It costs $200 million a year in rent to Cuba,'' Kvashnin said. ``For that amount, we can buy and launch 20 military satellites into space.''
Moscow has said that the intelligence gathering center was needed to monitor U.S. compliance with nuclear treaties and keep tabs on U.S. missile launches.
Democratic Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, chairman of the Intelligence Committee said: ``The Russian withdrawal from Lourdes is an indication of the declining influence of Fidel Castro and the strengthening relationship between the United States and Russia. These are both very positive developments.''
Edward Gonzalez, a consultant to the Rand Corporation on U.S.-Cuba relations, speculated that Castro might attempt to make the Russian decision ``rebound to his advantage'' by offering to cooperate with the United States on terrorism in order to ease the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba.
Herald staff writers Juan O. Tamayo and Tim Johnson contributed to this report.
The Washington Post's take via the Houston Chronicle-- It said Putin made the decision when Castro refused to cancel rental charges for the base as partial payment for Cuban debts to Moscow. "We owed money to the USSR, not to Russia," Castro reportedly said.
The Washington Times take-- The Cuban government called Moscow's decision to withdraw its radar base from Cuba unacceptable and that bilateral negotiations on the future of the base should continue. Havana said in an official statement that it was in "total disagreement" with Moscow's decision to shut the base at Lourdes. "The negotiations we have been having relating to the Lourdes electronic-monitoring center have not yet finished," the Cuban government said in its statement.
Cuba "forced" to sell biotechnology to Iran
China steps up air-defense work on Iran's border--Bill Gertz
Castro may not think the negotiations are over.. but they are. The negotiations took place on the phone between Bush and Putin.
What a class act. I imagine Russia replied with something like, "Oh, OK, well, you had an agreement with the USSR to maintain a presence here, not with Russia. Hava nice day, Fidel."
Heheheheh, Castro is such a putz. Maybe we should send in Rhode Island to take over his "country".
Thankfully, God will have the last word. . . and remove all evil from the planet. . . after worse traumas than ever have hit the planet before.
The secret Russian listening station at Lourdes some 30 km south of Havana is seen in this December 13, 2000 file photograph. Russian President Vladimir Putin today announced that the almost 40 year old facility used since the Cold War to listen in on US communications would be closed. The closure of the base, which is staffed by Russian intelligence personnel, is seen as an important step towards closer ties with the United States. (Andrew Winning/Reuters)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.