Posted on 08/04/2008 7:38:27 AM PDT by The Bronze Titan
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday said it was time for Russia to rebuild links with former Cold War ally Cuba, news agencies reported. The Kremlin is angry at U.S. plans for a missile defence system in Eastern Europe, and last month a news report suggested Russia might use Cuba, a thorn in America's side for half a century, as a refueling stop for nuclear-capable bombers. The Russian Defence Ministry denied the report and said it had no plans to open any military bases abroad, but a top U.S. general was drawn to say such a move would cross a "red line". Moscow was the Caribbean island's key oil, arms and grain supplier for 30 years, until subsidies propping up the economy of Fidel Castro's revolutionary government fell to a trickle and then dried up entirely after the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in other countries," news agency Interfax quoted Putin as saying at the weekly presidium meeting of key government ministers. Just 144 km (90 miles) from the coast of U.S. state of Florida, Cuba still has no formal diplomatic ties with Washington D.C. At the height of the Cold War in 1962, a two-week crisis over Soviet missiles on the island nearly led to full-blown war. Putin's remarks came after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin reported on a recent three-day visit to Cuba, where he discussed a raft of trade and investment issues and met with Raul Castro, Fidel's brother and now the island's leader. "We agreed on a priority direction for cooperation, this being energy, the mining industry, agriculture, transport, health care and communications," news agency RIA quoted Sechin as saying.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
When are we going to use that US BASE there to finally get rid of this U.S. enemy 90 miles away????
Seems like a very stupid way to make a point.
Pooty just indulges in Cold War wet dreams.
The Soviet Union — and the communist oligarchs who run it —and most of the rest of the world — never did go away.
The commies there simply swapped their KGB IDs, military uniforms and grim faces for business suits and a smile.
Keep the failure alive!
Will Russians really want to see their country throw billions of dollars down the rathole of the Castro regime again?
I doubt it. This is purely symbolic.
That's absolutely correct. But, more importantly, the "communist" brand of ruling has been re-marketed/re-packaged in many countries (China, Vietnam, Russia) - and you can say Cuba as well (although more repressive) - into a 'mafia' type governing system (one party / one 'organization' ) but with the objective of ammasing capital wealth with the necessary controls to ensure their positions of power.
Speaking of Gitmo... how is it that we happen to have a US base in CUBA (of all places...)
Does anyone know the history?
Russia wants to block us as repayment for messing with their former satellite states that ring their borders. If Cuba’s government falters in the transition from the Castro-era, US citizens from Cuba in Miami are poised to return, rebuild and invest - US investments, tourism from the US, and open trade would abound. If Russia gets there first to prop up the failing government with military might then we’re boxed out.
The Cubans gave the USA "perpetual" access and control over 100 years ago to this piece of land, and you would have thought that this American presence there would have 'ENSURED' that "freedom and liberty" would reign in Cuba in "perpetuaty". But we all know how the US has never used that capability to its potential within the past 50 years. Sad.
Here's the quick history....
- 1903: A perpetual lease for the area around Guantánamo Bay was offered February 23, 1903, from Tomás Estrada Palma, an American citizen, who became the first President of Cuba. The Cuban-American Treaty gave, among other things, the Republic of Cuba ultimate sovereignty over Guantánamo Bay while granting the United States "complete jurisdiction and control" of the area for coaling and naval stations.
- 1934: treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, modified the lease payment from $2,000 in U.S. gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 in U.S. dollars, and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it or the U.S. abandoned the base property.
- 1959: Since the Cuban Revolution the government under Fidel Castro has cashed only one of the rent checks from the US government, and only because of "confusion" in the heady early days of the leftist revolution. The remaining uncashed checks made out to "Treasurer General of the Republic" (A position that has ceased to exist after the revolution) are kept in Castro's office stuffed into a desk drawer.
Seems kinda stupid and pointless to me.
I agree. But regardless of the actual logistical merits the Russians now want badly to re-establish a ‘military presence’ very close to the US again. Cuba is a totally bankrupt country with nothing economically significant to offer the Russians in return - the only thing except military Naval and Air presence. CASTRO INC would die to give up more of their sovereinty in return for some badly needed economic necessities (like toilet paper and feminine napkins).
Lets see. Political situation between US/Nato or a Russian neighbor like Ukraine and Russia gets tight. US moves to back up it’s interests. Russia sends squadron of Backfires to Cuba for extensive “refueling” and “friendship” visit to the Russian base at Cienfuegos. Get it?
Yeah, of course I get, but if something did happen and Russia sent a squadron of Backfires, they’d just be sitting ducks. Kinda like us sending a squadron of B-1’s to Mongolia, all by themselves, with no available support.
It would still add a real, immediate threat that we would have to deal with. Could also be the camels nose in the tent. If say a president Barry didn’t respond to it, they might up the ante with reopening the sub base etc...
Message from Moscow - During the mid-1980s, Sechin worked as an interpreter in Mozambique and Angola, both battlefields of the cold war. While Vladimir Putin was serving as a KGB officer in East Germany, Sechin was likely doing similar work in Africa. It was here that he would probably have formed relationships with Cuban military “advisors” and military and intelligence personnel, who often fought on the front lines against U.S.-backed proxy forces. He is likely calling upon them now.
If Putin wants to go back to Cuba, than we should place two Army divisions and build a Air Force base in Georgia, complete with IRBM’s and nuclear tipped cruise missiles.
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