U.S. Accuses Cuba of Germ Weapons Program

yahoo.comnews ^ | September 3, 2003 | Reuters

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, yet to find evidence to back its charge that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, issued a new accusation on Thursday that Cuba had a "limited" biological arms program.

Cuba has previously denied the accusation, repeated on Thursday by Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roger Noriega at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Cuba.

Noriega was responding to a question from Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, who asked why Washington continued to enforce a four-decade sanctions regime against Havana.

Dodd quoted Secretary of State Colin Powell as having said Cuba did not constitute a military threat to the United States and asked: "If it is no longer a threat, why would we maintain those restrictions?"

"We continue ... to believe that Cuba has at least a limited, developmental, offensive biological weapons research and development effort and is providing dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states," said Noriega, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America.

"There are various aspects of the sort of threat that Cuba might represent," he said, adding that this position was not inconsistent with Powell's statement.

The United States, which lists Cuba as a state that sponsors terrorism, accused President Fidel Castro's government of running a germ weapons program twice last year.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque called the charges a "bald-faced lie" and challenged the United States to supply proof.

President Bush accused Saddam Hussein of stockpiling chemical and biological weapons before invading Iraq in March. No sign of such weapons has yet been found in Iraq.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

US must respond to charges that Venezuela is potential terror hub: Chavez***US News and World Report said in a statement last week that a two-month review by the weekly newsmagazine, "including interviews with dozens of US and Latin American sources, confirms the terrorist activity." It charges that "Middle East terror groups are operating support cells in Venezuela and other locations in the Andean region."

"US officials are monitoring developments that show the South American nation is providing assistance to Islamic radicals from the Middle East, and exploring whether there are any al-Qaeda connections," it added. The magazine also said it has learned that "thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being distributed to foreigners from Middle Eastern nations, including Syria, Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon."***

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

Fidel Castro - Cuba

Not In Our Name and the World Wide Terrorism Web: The "Peace" Movement's Trojan Horse FrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, March 19, 2003 | By Michael Tremoglie ***……..Is NION's financial relationship with IFCO some innocuous charitable funding arrangement? Is it a coincidence that NION donations are funneled through an organization with links to communist and pro-Palestinian groups? Is it a coincidence that NION's donations are mailed to an organization that has links with Castro? Is it a coincidence that NION is operated by an organization with links to Communist terrorists? And do the long list of entertainment industry notables who have signed onto its "Statement of Conscience" aware of NION's links? If not, why not?

The government needs to explain some things, as well. Have the appropriate authorities examined these affiliations? All the data presented in this article is culled from public data. NION's radical connections have been the subject of articles in publications as politically diverse as Mother Jones and National Review. If the government is reluctant to investigate NION because of political concerns, then it has no right to ask military personnel to sacrifice their lives.***

[TADSLOS]

Anthrax letters connection?

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[KevinDavis]

Regime Change coming to Cuba pretty soon?

[Spruce]

What the h*ll does this article have to do with Iraq? Reuters would make Goebbels very proud.

[Cincinatus]

President Bush accused Saddam Hussein of stockpiling chemical and biological weapons before invading Iraq in March. No sign of such weapons has yet been found in Iraq.

How many lies can Reuters cram into one story? Click HERE and find out.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Not In Our Name and the World Wide Terrorism Web: The "Peace" Movement's Trojan Horse. - NION: Castro and Islamist Terror

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Cuban President Fidel Castro right, gesture as he attends an economic meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Cuban and Brazilian businessmen Saturday Sept. 27, 2003 in Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia)

[Spruce]

Sorry. My post didn't come out the way I intended. What get's my goat is Reuters leads and ends this story with statements regarding their opinon on Iraq. This story has nothing to do with Iraq yet they just have to insert their propaganda into every story.

[dead]

Invade Reuters.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

That's so true.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Andrew Sullivan: READ THE (WMD) REPORT

Great Sullivan piece. Thanks!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Anthrax letters connection?

Who knows?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Noriega was responding to a question from Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, who asked why Washington continued to enforce a four-decade sanctions regime against Havana.

Denounce Dodd.

[andy58-in-nh]

yet to find evidence to back its charge that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction

SAY WHAT???? I guess large piles of dead people don't qualify as evidence to Reuters. Oh, P.S., the United Nations passed a few resolutions acknowledging Iraq's possession of and use of WMD's. Maybe the gang at Reuters missed that while they were at a white wine and chablis party. Commies.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Maybe the gang at Reuters missed that while they were at a white wine and chablis party. Commies.

That would include their friends at CNN and the BBC.

[andy58-in-nh]

Fidel Castro concludes a four-hour speech by casting a spell on a bottle of French spring water.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I wish he was pushing up daisies.

[Shermy]

Castro and Iran are buddies.

[george wythe]

President Bush accused Saddam Hussein of stockpiling chemical and biological weapons before invading Iraq in March.

Nice strawman there.

For those who really want to know what Bush really said about Hussein and chemical/biological weapons, and how Bush was vindicated, please go to this thread