US spreads its "targets"
The US State Department has launched a tirade of accusations against a number of countries, adding to its "axis of evil". John Bolton, the US Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, claims that Cuba, Syria and Libya are manufacturing and spreading weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons and are supplying them to "state sponsors of terrorism". By keeping the American people in a state of tension and fear the US leadership hopes to get away with its plans for war without end and world domination, using the threat of terrorism and now, weapons of mass destruction. Bush declared: "Our lives, our way of life, and our every hope for the world depend on a single commitment: The authors of mass murder must be defeated and never allowed to gain or use weapons of mass destruction." The country that has already accumulated the largest arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and biological weapons is the United States itself. John Bolton when speaking to the extreme right-wing Heritage Foundation in the Washington, said that: "For four decades Cuba has maintained a well- developed and sophisticated biomedical industry... This industry is one of the most advanced in Latin America and leads in the production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines that are sold worldwide." Sophisticated He went on, "The United States BELIEVES that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort. Cuba has provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states. We are concerned that such technology COULD support biological program in those states. (Emphasis added). Refuting John Bolton's claims, Raymond Zilinskas, a senior scientist at the Centre for Non-Proliferation Studies at the California based Monterey Institute of International Studies wrote in the Miami Herald "...as far as I can see there's been no evidence they're doing anything", [in the field of biological weapons]. Another authority, De la Fuente who worked in Cuba at the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana before leaving Cuba for the US in 1999 said, "I heard no account of any effort for developing biological weapons in Cuba." Reading Bolton's statement critically, it is apparent that the US has no evidence. It merely "believes" and the US accusations relate to Cuba's undoubted production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines. " This industry is one of the most advanced in Latin America...", says Bolton. Targetting Cuba If Cuba refuses to capitulate to American demands it will become one of America's "targets". Bolton said: "States that renounce terror and abandon weapons of mass destruction can become part of OUR effort. But those that do not can expect to become OUR target." (Emphasis added) Bolton's "target" is Cuba's health system. A baby born in Washington is twice as likely to die in infancy than one born in Havana and nearly three times as likely if the Washington baby has the misfortune to be African- American. Cuba delivers far better medical care to its citizens than the US. Cuba is marketing an encephalitis vaccine, the best in the world of its type. It has marketed its pharmaceutical products and research equipment without asking the permission of the United States. This is Cuba's crime. There is also the economic side. By marketing its pharmaceutical products and vaccines to other countries, Cuba is overcoming the US blockade. Cuban biotechnology not only assists its own public health but assists the Cuban economy as well. The US accusation that Cuba is manufacturing biological weapons is not supported by any facts. "It is politically motivated and part of the US campaign to force all countries to bend the knee to American domination. Castro responds In a response to the accusations made by John Bolton, Cuban President Fidel Castro made a long statement citing many facts and figures that refute the US claims. He said: "The idea of destroying Cuba, an obsession that has lasted more than 43 years, has led and still leads US policy down a tortuous path filled with lies, mistakes, failures and crimes ... This great power had never found itself in such a compromising position and it has no alternative but to lie, lie and lie. And there is no lack of unscrupulous characters in major public positions willing to do so... "The only truth in Bolton's lie is that Cuba is 90 miles from the continental territory of the United States." Giving facts and figures of Cuba's medical assistance to other countries, Castro said: "At this very moment, 2671 [doctors] are working in isolated and inhospitable places in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. It would be very difficult to persuade these men and women to produce viruses and bacteria to kill children, women, old people or the people of any country. "The pride and high moral standards of our people, which have led them to stand firm against 43 years of attacks and blockade, rests on the rationality of a policy that does not contradict their ethics and principles."