Posted on 08/01/2006 1:31:04 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - With Cuban President Fidel Castro ailing, the Bush administration said the United States is prepared to support a democratic transition on the island.
Castro, who underwent surgery for an intestinal problem, surrendered power temporarily to his brother, Raul, No. 2 in the chain of command.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said there are no plans to reach out to Raul Castro.
"Raul Castro's attempt to impose himself on the Cuban people is much the same as what his brother did," Snow said. "The one thing that this president has talked about from the very beginning is his hope for the Cuban people, finally, to enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy."
Snow added: "The one thing we want to do to is to continue to assure the people of Cuba that we stand ready to help."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States has no doubt that the Cuban people are weary of communist rule after 47 years and are eager to choose their leaders rather than having them imposed on the country.
"We believe that the Cuban people aspire and thirst for democracy and that given the choice they would choose a democratic government," McCormack said.
The White House said it is monitoring the health crisis of the Cuban leader, after learning of Castro's health problems Monday evening, but had no reason to think he had died.
"We don't know what the condition of Fidel Castro is. We don't know the exact facts of this because Cuba is a closed society," Snow said.
Three weeks before the official announcement in Havana of Castro's deteriorating health, a U.S. presidential commission called for an $80 million program to bolster nongovernmental groups in Cuba to hasten an end to the country's communist system.
The report also proposed "assistance in preparing the Cuban military forces to adjust to an appropriate role in a democracy." It provided no details on this point.
Cuba's National Information Agency called the report a "new plan of aggression" that violated the island's national sovereignty.
The official announcement in Havana said Castro, who will be 80 in two weeks, underwent intestinal surgery.
On Monday, before Castro's illness was announced, President Bush was in Miami and spoke of the island's future.
"If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there's a better way than the system in which they've been living under," he told WAQI-AM Radio Mambi, a Spanish-language radio station. "No one knows when Fidel Castro will move on. In my judgment, that's the work of the Almighty."
When the 95-page commission report was released, Bush said, "We are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change."
The U.S. and Cuba have been unbending adversaries since Castro entered into an alliance with the Soviet Union and converted his country into a Marxist-Leninist state in the early 1960s.
Hostilities reached a peak during that period, marked by the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis.
There have been no high-level political contacts between the two countries since 1982. The collapse of European communism almost two decades ago was a severe blow to Castro, both politically and economically.
Lately, his fortunes have improved somewhat with the emergence of left-of-center and leftist governments in Latin America, most notably in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez has used his oil wealth to back policies long espoused by Castro.
For years, successive U.S. administrations have tailored their Cuba policies with an eye toward winning support from the vote-rich Cuban-American community in South Florida, which is predominantly anti-Castro. The U.S. trade embargo has been the centerpiece of American policy toward Cuba for more than 40 years.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio, voting record), R-Fla., a member of the House International Relations Committee who has long opposed Castro, said even a temporary relinquishment of power by Castro is "a great day for the Cuban people and for their brothers and sisters in exile."
"Fidel Castro has only brought ruin and misery to Cuba, so if he is incapacitated, even for a short period of time, it is a marvelous moment for the millions of Cubans who live under his iron-fisted rule and oppressive state machinery," she said. "I hope this is the beginning of the end for his despised regime."
Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who like Ros-Lehtinen was born in Cuba, joined with her in saying they expect U.S. action for now will be limited to transmitting radio messages of hope to the Cuban people and preventing an influx of illegal immigrants from the island.
Martinez said he is confident the Navy and Coast Guard have the resources to prevent refugees from trying to flood U.S. borders. Snow urged people "not to get into the water."
"What the president wants to reiterate is the importance of developing an orderly procedure for moving people from Cuba to the United States," he said.
Martinez also said he would not support lifting the U.S. embargo on Cuba until reform was under way. Instead, the United States should lend its ear to political dissidents and pressure outside forces, such as Venezuela, to limit support of the communist regime, the senator said.
I am sure the lefties are up in arms about the possibility of democracy in Cuba.
This ought to give Castro heartburn.
President Bush strides across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006 to board his helicopter for a short flight to the National Naval Medical Center in nearby Bethesda, Md. The 60-year-old commander in chief is scheduled to receive his annual physical examination. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
All we have to do is start a rumor that the Marines have landed and are headed for Havana.
Martinez would be a good candidate for President of Cuba.
And it would get him out of the Senate as well.
They have already landed and are stationed at Gitmo :)
If Cuba becomes a republic, expect an economic explosion.
Why do people assume that when Fidel kicks the bucket that Raul won't immediately step into his vacant shoes and more of the same then ensues in Cuba?
If Fidel has ruled for this long and has subjugated the people so much they simply accept it or try to escape across the Florida Straits, why in the world won't they simply accept Raul?
This is an honest question, I don't understand what is going to change.
... or the CIA.
Baahahahaha! As a Floridian- I think that's a great idea:) I don't hate Mel..but he never was senatorial material.
Nah. They know that. You've gotta add a little color to this rumor or no one will care.
They've overrun a Cuban military base, and have been greeted by deliriously happy throngs of Cubans enroute to Havana.
Our local radio is saying CASTRO HAS DIED and folks in Miami are honking their horns in celebration. Fox and CNN isn't confirming it and CNN says the White House doesn't believe it to be true. However, Fox is showing the car honking. Guess maybe the msm are waiting for White House confirmation???
yeah, how much will this cost US?
Sombody call the tourism lobby and ask them.
Hold on to your wallets, Our Government is here to help!
I have an excellent idea....Hillary and Bill can go to Cuba and be co presidents, her of the men and him of the women.....excellent plan....
They have to figure out who owns what- all of what was taken by the government has to be sorted out among the exiles and those who are currently occupying the property, to make sure that a fair arrangement is made so that Cuban exiles get just compensation and current Cubans are not kicked out of their homes.
I'm with you. I'm in Orlando...
Here's my plan... They have a democratic election in Cuba. Any Cuban or Cuban American who was born in Cuba or whose parents or grandparents were all born in Cuba can run for President. They can also vote in this election.
Martinez is a shoo-in. The Miami Cubans will put him over the top, easy.
And Charlie Crist can appoint the next Florida Senator. Could be Jeb.
Ah....here it comes!
Perhaps the price of REAL Cohibas will finally come down...
I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves.
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