Terrorizing Cuba

Terrorist Luis Posada Carriles was released from US custody on April 6. In a stunning example of Bush's "war on terror", Judge Kathleen Cardone of the El Paso Federal Court granted Carriles freedom on bail after he was detained for an immigrations violation. This, however, is not the reason why both Cuba and Venezuela are outraged over the release. Carriles has a well-documented history of both international terrorism and US support. A quote taken from this article summarizes the problem: On Sept. 11, an immigration judge ruled Posada be released unless the administration charges him with terrorism. In a Justice Department brief, the Bush administration admitted that Posada is “an unrepentant criminal and admitted mastermind of terrorist plots and attacks on tourist sites,” but refuses to charge him for such crimes. Recognizing the problem of setting a known terrorist free, and unable to deport him to a third country, the Justice Department argued that according to law an illegal immigrant cannot be freed if the release has “serious, adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Well, the detainment strategy didn't work, and now the US government has freed a known terrorist. To understand the depth of the hypocrisy in play here, an examination of Carriles' history is in order. -He lived in the US in 1961 and was trained at the School of the Americas in sabotage and explosives. -Venezuela says he was behind a 1976 plane bombing in Cuba that killed 73 people. -Carriles escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 1985 while awaiting a trial on appeal. -He was engaged in the Iran-Contra affair. -Carriles allegedly planted various bombs in Cuba to destroy the tourist industry in 1997. -He was convicted in Panama of trying to bomb Cuban leader Fidel Castro at a summit in the country in 2002. -The CIA had knowledge of many of these actions. -He lived in the US in 2005; extradition requests from Venezuela's Supreme Court were ignored until Carriles was interviewed in Florida by the Miami Herald. Well, it certainly seems bad, doesn't it? If we think back to our own stance on terror, it gets even worse. On September 5, 2006, the President released His updated National Strategy For Combating Terrorism (NSCT), where one of the points was: Deny Terrorists The Support And Sanctuary Of Rogue States: We make no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor terrorists. Wow, that whole "support and harbor" thing makes us look pretty silly right now; lots of people are starting to notice. This also gives Fidel Castro and excellent platform to blast US international policy. We are getting ourselves into another situation similar to the Iranian taking of British soldiers that I reference in my post The Geneva Convention - Lost and Found. The US invoking of the Geneva Convention rings extremely hollow, after our leadership called the Convention "quaint" in response to Guantanamo torture allegations. This time, we are training and harboring terrorists, while at the same time condemning terror in other places. So, why not just charge him with terrorism? The answer is obvious, but dancing around this truism requires deft wordsmithing. The charge of terrorism is a euphemism for "Enemy of the State", and has nothing to do with actual terror. Cuba is a national enemy, so terrorism against them is actually supported instead of condemned. We support terrorism against people we don't like, just like we support torture against those same people. Conversely, we condemn terrorism when it affects us, as well as condemning the torture of our allies. Just what is it that we believe, anyway?