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| Gen. McCaffrey Goes to Cuba |
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Posted by FoM on March 06, 2002 at 10:27:40 PT By Jonathan V. Last, Online Editor Source: Weekly Standard 
General Barry McCaffrey met Fidel Castro on Saturday night, Reuters reports. It was love at first sight. In Havana on the Center for Defense Information's dime, the former drug czar spent twelve hours in meetings with the Cuban dictator--and his brother, the minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Raul. After the marathon session, McCaffrey announced, "Cuba is an island of resistance to the drug threat." And not just resistant, but safe: "I feel safer walking Cuban streets than anywhere else in Latin America and the Caribbean," McCaffrey declared. Curious about how committed El Jefe and his hermano are to the war on drugs? "They are very keen on cooperating in the fight against drugs," McCaffrey tells us. "They are sincere." In one sense, McCaffrey is just another of the idiot-pilgrims who have made their way to Cuba to kiss Castro's ring in recent weeks (National Review's Jay Nordlinger is doing God's work by keeping a running tally in his Impromptus column). The list includes famous people such as Oliver Stone, Carole King, and Arlen Specter, and less famous people, such as Michael Diven, a state representative from Pennsylvania, who un-ironically cooed to Castro, "You said the goal of society should be to keep people well and keep people out of jail. That's our goal in Pennsylvania too!" These folks may be dumb, but they are misguided. On a deeper level, McCaffrey's antics are probably even less noble. Don't forget, he's the fellow who, when his replacement was nominated by the administration last April, told the New York Times that he had severe misgivings about the ability of the nominee, John Walters, to do the job. "Some of his positions in my own view need to be carefully considered by the confirmation committee," he harrumphed. Class act, that McCaffrey. But it's one thing to be snide to an American to get your name in the papers. It's another thing entirely to do it on the backs of the Cuban people. Jonathan V. Last is online editor of The Weekly Standard. Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch II Related Articles: Former Drug Czar Calls for US-Cuba Cooperation Barry McCaffrey Visits Cuba, Nation No Threat Bush Urged on Drug Efforts With Cuba Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #9 posted by SoberStoner on March 06, 2002 at 21:29:03 PT:
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| We beat the USSR, who's biggest allies were china and cuba...now the USSR is dead and now we're trying to be nicey-nice with cuba..and china....HUH???? Where did this come from?? This isnt america..But of course, we do have to have a place to keep our 'political prisoners' and we dont want them where just ANYBODY could see...so...how much money to keep quiet Senior Castro? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #8 posted by lookinside on March 06, 2002 at 19:23:14 PT:
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| very weird indeed. I think our leaders have decided the constitution is far too restrictive on their powers. The citizens are far too uppity. Pretty soon we may hear them singing the praises of fascism. Keep your guns clean and buy plenty of ammo. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by freedom fighter on March 06, 2002 at 17:14:20 PT |
| When Barry McCarefreak can go to Cuba when I or anyone here are not even allow to fly out to Cuba? From what I know, Americans have to fly to Mexico then fly to Cuba. Is Barry a retired General or still is a General? I have to agree with E.J., this is very weird! ff [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on March 06, 2002 at 16:34:04 PT |
| EJ... it's no less weird then the government blaiming pot smokers while at the same time SUVs are everywhere. i find the reigme in saudi arabia, or china for that matter, much more threating then cuba will ever be, I don't mean weird as in not quite morally right, I mean weird as in IS THIS A HALLUCINATION? weird. Castro was praising Stalin long after it stopped being politically correct in Moscow. He stayed that way all during Glasnost and promised air support to the putsch against Gorbachev. That should not be forgotten. He's not some benign socialist or misunderstood marxist -- he's a man who praised Stalin and meant it and put his entire political weight behind the heirs to Stalin's memory in Russia. It's outrageous, completely outrageous, that any American military man should have anything positive to say about Castro at all. This is historically weird. I don't care how you want to slice the moral pie, if some people feel a big need to be forgiving of Castro because of his socialist pretensions or what... But from the point of view of American history, to have an American military man behave in this manner, it is shocking. And I'm not a Republican or anything, I've been to the left of center all my life. I was anti-Vietnam. I just never thought I would see the day that an American military man who served in Vietnam would go plant a big wet one on Fidel Castro's behind. For someone of my generation, this is just too surreal for words. This has to be the weirdest and most irrational thing I have ever seen happen in American politics, only comparable to the hemp oil ban. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on March 06, 2002 at 16:33:53 PT |
| Building a strawman here. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by letsgetfree on March 06, 2002 at 15:36:19 PT |
| it's no less weird then the government blaiming pot smokers while at the same time SUVs are everywhere. i find the reigme in saudi arabia, or china for that matter, much more threating then cuba will ever be, and also the almost fanatical reliance on oil. what was it like 19 of the hijackers were saudis i think? but of ccourse oil and $$ run the USA so it's not much of a surprise. if china can be a favoured trade partner then relations with cuba can be normalized. of course that will never happen though due to florida politics. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on March 06, 2002 at 15:06:32 PT |
| The DEA is actually seriously going after hemp oil as a way to attack marijuana. An retired American general who is a Vietnam veteran, is actually seriously visiting Cuba and praising Fidel as if he were some SDS member in 1969 recruited from an anti-Vietnam demonstration to do farm labor with Venceremos. Is there something in the water, or has the Drug War really gotten this goldarned unbelievably FREAKING WEIRD??? But the question remains -- can it get much weirder? I guess we'll just have to wait and see! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on March 06, 2002 at 14:56:15 PT |
| And not just resistant, but safe: "I feel safer walking Cuban streets than anywhere else in Latin America and the Caribbean," McCaffrey declared. If he'd said that 15 years ago, it would have created a public outrage and he would have had to resign from his post. I wish the Soviet Union was still alive and menacing the world, because when we had them to compare ourselves with, Americans used to be proud of the freedom we had that they didn't have, and that pride does not seem to exist today not even amongst the people who have fought supposedly for that freedom. I cannot say what a horrible sick sad tragedy it is to see an American miltary man go to Cuba and praise the Communist system.
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| Comment #1 posted by Prime on March 06, 2002 at 12:45:16 PT |
| that our former Drug czar finds drug war solace under a totalitarian regime. If we could only get rid of that damned bill of rights, then, maybe then, we could win this war on drugs. Ron Crickenberger(SP?) of the Libertarian Party is on Fox's The O'reilly Factor tonight to discuss the ad that was run last week. O'Reilly also had an editorial this week at http://www.worldnetdaily.com criticizing the government for punishing its constituents. He was not referring to drug war of course, but about taxes and traffic. While I like O'Reilly's no spin attitude towards politics, I obviously disagree with his position on the drug war. Their point that "if all drugs were legal society would fall apart" sickens me. Especially when they are asked, "so if drugs were all legal tomorrow, you would be unable to resist and become an addict?" Their answer "no, I know better". The inference is of course, " the rest of you idiots are not wise enough to make as sound a decision as I am". This is the holier than thou argument. I hope the LP guy is prepared. I wish I was able to join the debate, the arguments are just getting easier to expose it seems. [ Post Comment ] |
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