Monday 12 July 2010

Reflections by comrade Fidel

IMPERIALISM AND LIES

I had no choice but to write two reflections on Iran and Korea explaining the imminent danger of a war with the use of nuclear weapons. I have also expressed my opinion that in one of these cases the danger could be thwarted if China decided to veto the resolution promoted by the United States at the UN Security Council. The other depends of factors that escape any possibility of control, given the fanatic behavior of the State of Israel, which the United States has turned into a strong nuclear power that refuses to accept restraint from the superpower.
At the time of the first US intervention to crush the Islamic Revolution in June 1953, --in defense of its own interests and of those of its close ally the United Kingdom-- which placed Mohammad Reza Pahlevi in power, Israel was a small State that had yet to seize nearly the entire Palestinian territory, a portion of Syria and not a small part of neighboring Jordan that was still then defended by the Arab Legion, of which not a shadow was left after that.
Today, the hundreds of missiles with nuclear warheads, supported by the most sophisticated planes supplied by the United States, are threatening the security of every state in the region, both Arab and non-Arab, Muslim and non-Muslim, which are within the extensive operational range of its missiles capable of hitting barely a few meters from the target.
Last Sunday May 30, when I wrote the Reflection on Imperialism and Drugs, the brutal attack on the flotilla carrying food, medicines and other things for the one-and-a-half million Palestinians who are besieged in a small piece of what for thousands of years was their own Homeland, had not happened.
The overwhelming majority of people use their time to try to cope with the necessities that life brings on them --including food, the right to recreation and studying, and other crucial problems that afflict their closest relatives. They cannot stop to look at the information of what is going on in the planet. They can be found anywhere, with a noble expression on the face trusting that others will care to find the solutions to the problems that affect them. They are capable of rejoicing and laughing. Thus they cheer up those who have the privilege of observing with equanimity the realities threatening us all.
The very strange fabrication that North Korea had sunk the South Korean corvette Cheonan –designed with state of the art technology and equipped with a wide range sonar systems and submarine acoustic sensors—off the coast of that country meant blaming the former for the atrocious event that took the lives of 40 South Korean marines and caused injuries to tens of them.
I found it hard to unravel the problem. On the one hand, there was no way to explain how it could be possible for any government, regardless of its authority, to use the command mechanisms to order the launching of torpedoes against an insignia vessel. On the other hand, I did not believe for a second the story that Kim Jon IL had given that order.
I lacked the elements of judgment to enable me to reach a conclusion, but I had the certainty that China would veto a draft resolution in the Security Council leading to sanctions on North Korea. On the other hand, I had absolutely no doubt that the United States cannot prevent the use of the nuclear weapon by the uncontrollable Israeli government.
Late during the day of June 1st the veil was lifted off what really happened.
At 10:30 p.m. I listened to a sharp analysis by journalist Walter Martinez, the anchor of the Venezuelan TV star program Dossier. He concluded that the United States had misled the two Koreas into believing what each was saying about the other, this with the intent of solving the problem of the return of the territory occupied by the Okinawa base that the leader of Japan demanded echoing the people’s yearning for it. His Party had rallied great support during the elections based on his promise to achieve the withdrawal of the US military base stationed there, which is like a dagger stabbing for more than 65 years the heart of Japan, today a rich and developed nation.
The truly amazing details of what happened there have been known through Global Research, thanks to an article by Wayne Madsen, an investigative reporter working in Washington DC, who disseminated information from intelligence sources in the Web site Wayne Madsen Report.
These sources, he said, “…suspect that the attack on the corvette Cheonan of the South Korean Navy for submarine war was a false flag operation intended to make believe the attack was coming from North Korea.”
“One of the main purposes of increasing tension in the Korean peninsula was to put pressure on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to make him change his policy on the withdrawal of the US Marine Corps base from Okinawa. Hatoyama has admitted that tensions over the sinking of the Cheonan had a significant influence on his decision to allow the US marines to stay in Okinawa. Hatoyama’s decision has caused a split in the center-left coalition government, an event welcomed by Washington, in view of the threat of Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, to leave the coalition due to the change of heart about Okinawa.
“The Cheonan was sunk near the Baengnyeong Island, in the extreme west, a place distant from the South Korean coast but in front of North Korea. The island is highly militarized and within range of the artillery fire of the North Korean coastal defenses, which are on the other side of a narrow canal.
“The Cheonan, a corvette designed for antisubmarine warfare, was equipped with a cutting-edge sonar system. Furthermore, it operated in waters with extensive hydrophone sonar systems and submarine acoustic sensors. The South Korean sonar and audio show no evidence of a torpedo, a submarine or a mini-submarine in the area. Since there is hardly any navigation in the canal, the sea was quiet at the moment of the sinking.
“However, the Island of Baengnyeong shelters a US-South Korean military intelligence base and US Navy SEALS [special forces] operate from this base. Also, as the Cheonan was sunk, there were four ships of the US Navy in the sector, as part of the US-South Korea exercise Foal Eagle. An investigation into the metal and chemical traces of the suspicious torpedo shows it is of German manufacture.
“It is suspected that the US Navy SEALS keep a sample of European torpedoes to make deniability plausible for attacks under false flag. Furthermore, Berlin does not sell torpedoes to North Korea, but Germany has close cooperation programs with Israel for the joint development of submarines and submarine weapons.
“The presence of the USS Salvor, one of the ships taking part in the Foal Eagle, so close to the Baengnyeong Island during the sinking of the South Korean corvette raises questions, too.
“The Salvor, a civilian salvage ship with the Navy, involved in mine-setting operations by the Thai marines in the Gulf of Thailand in 2006, was also in the vicinity at the moment of the explosion with an additional force of 12 deep-water divers.
“Beijing, satisfied with North Korean Kim Jon Il protestation of innocence after an urgent trip from Pyongyang to Beijing by train, suspects the role of the US Navy in the sinking of the Cheonan, associated to specific suspicions arising from the role played by the Salvor. The suspicions are the following:
“1. The Salvor was taking part in a mine-setting operation in the sea bottom. In other words, it was setting antisubmarine mines that are shot horizontally in the bottom of the sea.
“2. The Salvor was conducting a routine inspection and maintenance of mines in the sea bottom and programming them in an electronic activation mode --shot by sensitive trigger—as part of the inspection program.
“3. A SEALS diver attached a magnetic mine to the Cheonan, as part of a clandestine plan intended to influence the public opinion in South Korea, Japan and China.
“The tensions in the Korean peninsula have conveniently eclipsed every other item on the agenda of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her visits to Beijing and Seoul.”
Thus, in an amazingly easy way, the United States was able to solve a major issue: to remove the National Unity government of Yukio Hatoyama’s Democratic Party, but at a very high cost:
1. It has deeply offended its allies in South Korea.
2. It has emphasized the skill and celerity with which his adversary Kim Jong IL acted.
3. It has enhanced the prestige of the Chinese power, whose President took personal action and with full authority sent the main leaders of China to talk with Emperor Akihito, with the Prime Minister and with other outstanding personalities of Japan.
The political leaders and the world public opinion have proof of the cynicism and absolute lack of scruples that characterize the United States imperial policy.

Fidel Castro Ruz
June 3, 2010
11:16 am
Reflections by comrade Fidel

THE INESCAPABLE CONFLICT


I recently said that the world would soon forget the tragedy that was about to happen as a result of the policy pursued for over two hundred years by the neighboring superpower, the United States.
We are familiar with its devious and treacherous actions; the impetuous economic growth attained through its scientific and technical development; the enormous wealth accumulated at the expense of the overwhelming majority of its industrious people and of the rest of the peoples of the world by an exiguous minority which, in that country and the others, possesses and enjoys unlimited riches.
Who are increasingly complaining if not the workers, the professionals, those rendering services to the population, the retirees, the unemployed, the street children and the people lacking the most basic education who make up the majority of the nearly seven billion inhabitants of the planet whose crucial resources are clearly depleting?
How are these being treated by the law enforcement forces that should protect them?
Who are those beaten by the police agents armed with every possible instrument of repression?
I don’t need to describe what everybody can see everywhere, even in the United States, on their TV sets, computers and other media.
It’s more difficult to unravel the sinister projects of those holding in their hands the fate of mankind as they absurdly believe that such a world order can be imposed.
What did I write in the past five Reflections ran by Granma and the CubaDebate website between May 30 and June 10, 2010?
The basic elements of a very near future have already been let loose and there is no way to pull them back.
The impressive developments of the Football World Cup in South Africa have captivated our minds for a few days. We hardly get any time to breathe during the six hours of life TV broadcast in almost every country in the world.
Having watched the games of the most prestigious teams in the first six days, and applying my little reliable knowledge, I dare say that the champion of this World Cup will be one of the following: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom or Spain.
Every big team has showed its power in this sport, where I previously could only see people running through an extensive field from one goal line to another. Today, thanks to such famous names as Maradona and Messi, knowing the exploits of the former as the best player in the history of that sport and his opinion that the latter is like him or even better, I can already see the role of each of the eleven players.
I’ve also learned only recently that the new football is of geometric variable in the air, thus it’s faster and it bounces back better. The players themselves, starting with the goalkeeper, are complaining of these new characteristics, but also the forward and the defense players are complaining quite a lot since the ball moves faster and they learned to play with a different ball. The FIFA leaders make the decisions on the matter for every World Cup.
This time they have changed this sport. It’s different even if the name is still the same. The fans who are not familiar with the changes introduced in the ball, --which is the soul of a great number of sport activities-- and who fill the stands of any stadium are the ones who fully enjoy the game and accept it under the magic name of the glorious football. Even Maradona, who was the best player in history, will easily accept that other sportsmen score more goals, from a greater distance, more spectacularly and with more accuracy than him, in the same goals of the same size as those where he scored and that made him so famous.
It was different in amateur baseball where they used either wooden bats or aluminum bats; they just had to meet certain requirements.
The powerful professional clubs in the United States decided to apply strict rules regarding the bats and a series of other traditional requirements that preserve the characteristics of the old game. They really added special interest to the show and increased the huge profits obtained from the public and the advertising.
In the current sports whirlpool, an extraordinary and noble sport like volleyball, which Cubans enjoy so much, is involved in its World League. This is the most important contest of this specialty every year, except for the tittles received by the teams that end up first in the Olympic Games or the world championships.
On Friday and Saturday last week, the second to the last matches in Cuba were played at the Ciudad Deportiva. Our team has not lost one match so far. Its latest adversary was no other than Germany, a team counting among its players a giant 2.14 meters tall who’s also a great spiker. It was truly a deed that they won all the sets, except the third of the second match. The members of our team who are all very young --one of them is only 16—showed an amazing capacity to react. Currently, the European champion is Poland and the German team beat it in their two matches. Before those two victories nobody thought that the Cuban team would again be among the best of the world.
Unfortunately, in the political arena the path is fraught with great risks.
One of the issues I have referred to, which counts among the basic elements that have been let loose and cannot be pulled back, is the sinking of the Cheonan, a flagship of the South Korean Navy which sank in a few minutes on March 26, causing 46 dead and scores of injured among the marines.
The South Korean government ordered an investigation to determine whether it was the result of an internal or external explosion. When it was confirmed that it was an external blast, it accused Pyongyang of sinking the ship. North Korea only had an old model of Soviet made torpedo. In the absence of any other element except the simplest logic no other cause could be thought of.
As a first step, last March the South Korean government ordered the activation of the propaganda loudspeakers on 11 points along the demilitarized common border separating the two Koreas.
Then, the high command of the Armed Forces of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea declared that it would destroy the loudspeakers as soon as they were turned on. This activity had been suspended in the year 2004. The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea literally declared that Seoul would be turn into “a sea of fire.”
Last Friday, the South Korean Army announced that it would start such activity as soon as the Security Council made public its measures for the sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan. Both Korean republics are now ready to pull the trigger.
The South Korean government could not imagine that its close ally, the United States, had placed a mine in the bottom of the Cheonan, as reported in an article signed by investigative journalist Wayne Madsen and published in Global Research on June 1, 2010, offering a coherent explanation of the event. It is based on the fact that North Korea does not have any rocket or instrument capable of sinking the Cheonan that could go undetected by the sophisticated equipment of that war submarine.
North Korea had been accused of something it did not do, which determined Kim Jong Il’s urgent trip to China in the armored train.
As these events developed so suddenly, the South Korean government did not, and does not, have space for any other possible cause.
So, the sky is growing increasingly cloudy while a sportive and joyful spirit reins.
The US intentions have been obvious for some time, as its government acts obliged by its designs without any possible alternative.
As it is used to impose its designs by force, the intention is that Israel uses the most modern planes and sophisticated weaponry recklessly supplied by the superpower to attack the facilities where Iran produces the enriched uranium. The US has suggested to Israel, which has no borders with Iran, to request permission from Saudi Arabia to fly over a long and narrow air corridor that considerably shortens the distance between the point of departure of the attacking planes and their targets.
According to the plan, --some essential parts of which have been revealed by the Israeli Intelligence-- waves of planes would attack one after the other hammering the targets.
Last Saturday June 12, major Western press ran the news of an air corridor given by Saudi Arabia to Israel, following an agreement with the US State Department, with the aim of conducting exercises with the Israeli fighter bombers to strike Iran by surprise, exercises that had already taken place in the Saudi air space.
The Israeli spokesmen have denied nothing. They have simply said that the countries mentioned were more fearful than Israel of the Iranian nuclear development.
On June 13, when the London Times published an information from intelligence sources, assuring that Saudi Arabia had made public an agreement giving Israel permission to use an air corridor in its territory to attack Iran, President Ahmadinejad stated --as he received the credentials of the new Saudi ambassador to Teheran, Mohammad ibn Abbas al Kalabi-- that there are many enemies who do not wish the development of close relations between the two countries, “…but if Iran and Saudi Arabia stay alongside each other, those enemies will renounce the continuation of the aggression…”
In my view, from the Iranian standpoint this statement was justified; whatever the reasons behind it. Possibly, he did not wish to offend his Arab neighbors.
The Yankees have not said a word, which reflects their ardent desire to sweep away the nationalist government of Iran.
We should ask now when the Security Council will analyze the sinking of the Cheonan, which was the flagship of the South Korean Navy; what will it do when the triggers are pulled in the Korean peninsula; whether or not it is true that Saudi Arabia, in concert with the State Department, authorized an air corridor for waves of Israeli modern bombers to attack the Iranian facilities, thus creating the possibility for the use of the nuclear weapons supplied by the United States.
The diabolic reports slide down little by little in between matches of the Football World Cup, so that nobody takes notice.


Fidel Castro Ruz
June 16, 2010
8:17 pm
Reflections by comrade Fidel

A SWIPE WAITING TO HAPPEN

On Tuesday, June 8, I wrote at noon time the Reflection “On the Brink of Tragedy.” Later, I watched Randy Alonso’s TV program Roundtable, usually aired at 6:30 pm.
That day, outstanding and prestigious Cuban intellectuals taking part in the program answered the pointed questions raised by the moderator with eloquent words that showed great respect for my views, but they did not think there was any reason for Iran to reject the likely decision –already known—that would be adopted by the Security Council in New York in the morning of June 9, undoubtedly concerted by the leaders of the five powers with the right of veto: the United States, France and the United Kingdom, with those of Russia and China.
At that moment, I said to close people who usually keep me company: “I so much regret that I did not conclude my Reflection by saying how I wished to be wrong!” But it was too late. I could not delay sending it to the website CubaDebate and to Granma.
The following day, at 10:00 am, knowing that the meeting had been scheduled for that morning, I decided to watch CNN in Spanish, which would certainly carry news of the Security Council debate. Thus, I could listen to the words of the chairman of the Security Council as he introduced the Draft Resolution promoted a few days before by the United States with the support of France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Various representatives of the major members involved with the Draft spoke, too. The US representative explained why her country endorsed it, arguing the well known pretext that Iran deserved the sanctions for its violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. On the other hand, the representative of Turkey, --the country whose ship was the victim of the brutal attack launched by the Israeli elite troops transported in helicopters to assault, in the morning of May 31, the flotilla that was taking food to the one and a half million Palestinians besieged in a portion of their own homeland—expressed his government’s intention to oppose new sanctions on Iran.
The CNN showed in it news segment various images of hands raised as the representatives explained their positions with noticeable gestures. These included the representative of Lebanon, a country that would abstain from voting.
The calm manner of the Security Council members who voted against the Resolution was manifest in the firm right hand of a woman, the representative of Brazil, who had previously exposed with a steady rhythm her Homeland’s reasons to oppose the agreement.
There would still be masses of news on the issue. I turned on the TV to watch Telesur, which for hours pleased the indescribable need for information.
President Lula da Silva said at the city of Natal, in the northeast of the country, two categorical phrases. He said that the approved sanctions were imposed “by those who believe in force and not in dialogue,” and that the Security Council meeting “could have been used to discuss the disarmament of those who have nuclear weapons.”
It would not be surprising that both Israel and the United States, --and its close allies with the right of veto in the Security Council, France and the United Kingdom—try to avail themselves of the enormous interest aroused by the World Football contest to appease the international public irritated over the criminal behavior of the Israeli elite troops in front of the Gaza Strip.
Therefore, it is likely that the swipe is postponed for a few weeks, and that it is even forgotten by most of the people in the warmest days of the boreal summer. You’d only need to observe the cynicism with which the Israeli leaders respond to the press interviews in the coming days as they are bombarded with questions. Opportunely, they will keep rising the severity of their demands before pulling the trigger. They are eager to repeat the story of Mossadegh in 1953, or take Iran back to the Stone Age, an attractive scenario for the powerful empire in its dealings with Pakistan.
The hatred felt by the State of Israel against the Palestinians is such that they would not hesitate to send the one and a half million men, women and children of that country to the crematorium where millions of Jews of all ages were exterminated by the Nazi.
It would seem that the Fuhrer’s swastika is today Israel’s banner. This view is not the result of hatred. It comes from the sentiments of a country that offered solidarity and shelter to the Jews when in the tough days of World War II, Batista’s pro-Yankee government tried to send back from Cuba a ship full of them who were escaping from Nazi persecution in France, Belgium and Holland.
After the victory of the Revolution I met many members of the large Jewish Community in Cuba. I visited them and we talked several times. We never expelled them from our country. The differences with many of them were related to the revolutionary laws that affected economic interests. On the other hand, the consumer society attracted many of them in view of the sacrifices that the Revolution entailed. Others decided to stay in our Homeland, and have paid valuable services to Cuba.
A new and gloomy stage is opening for the world.
Yesterday, at 12:44 pm, Obama spoke on the agreement reached by the Security Council.
I am including some phrases the President said as reported by CNN in Spanish.
“Today, the United Nations Security Council voted overwhelmingly to sanction Iran for its continued failure to live up to its obligations.”
“This resolution will put in place the toughest sanctions ever faced by the Iranian government, and it sends an unmistakable message about the international community’s commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.”
“For years, the Iranian government has failed to live up to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
“While Iran’s leaders hide behind outlandish rhetoric, their actions have been deeply troubling.”
“Indeed, when I took office just over 16 months ago, Iranian intransigence was well-established.”
“We offered the opportunity of a better future if they lived up to their international obligations.”
“There is no double standard at play here.”
“Iran further violated its own obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions to suspend uranium enrichment.”
“That’s the reason for these severe measures.”
“These are the most rigorous sanctions that Iran has faced.”
“This shows the united view that a nuclear arms race in the Middle East is in nobody’s interest.”
These phrases I have taken from his short speech suffice to prove how weak, frail and unjustifiable is the policy of the powerful empire.
Obama himself admitted in his speech at the Islamic University of Al-Azhar in El Cairo that “In the midst of the Cold War, the United States played a role in overthrowing a democratically elected Iranian government,” although he neither said when it happened nor what were the intentions. It’s very likely that he did not even remember how it was done against Mossadegh in 1953 to install in the govrnment the Reza Pahlevi dynasty, the Iranian Shah, whom they armed to the teeth as it fits their main gendarme in that Middle East region, where the satrap accumulated a huge fortune derived from the country’s oil wealth.
At that time, the State of Israel did not have one single nuclear weapon. The empire had an enormous and incomparable nuclear power. It was then that the United States came up with the adventurous idea of turning Israel into a Middle East gendarme, the same that today threatens a considerable portion of the world population and is capable of acting with its characteristic independence and bigotry.

Fidel Castro Ruz
June 10, 2010
11:59 am
Reflections by comrade Fidel

On the Brink of the Tragedy

Since March 26, neither Obama nor the South Korean President have been able to explain what actually happened with the flagship of the South Korean Navy, the sophisticated submarine fighter Cheonan, which was taking part in an exercise with the US Navy to the west of the Korean Peninsula, near the border of the two republics, where 46 died and tens sustained injuries.

What’s embarrassing for the empire is that its ally may learn from reliable sources that the ship was sunk by the United States. There is no way to avoid that fact which will follow them like a shadow.

Elsewhere in the world, the circumstances similarly apply to much more dangerous events than those of East Asia; they can’t be helped, and there is nothing the super-powerful empire can do to stop them.

Israel would not refrain from activating and using –with full independence—the considerable nuclear power built by the United States in that country. To believe otherwise would be to ignore reality.

Another very serious issue is that there is no way the United Nations can change the course of events, and very soon the arch-reactionaries ruling Israel will clash with the indomitable resistance of Iran, a nation with a population of 70 million and well known religious traditions that will not accept the insolent threats of any adversary.

In short: Iran will not submit to the Israeli threats.

As it is only natural, the people of the world are increasingly enjoying the great sports events, those related to recreation and culture, and others that occupy their limited free time in the midst of the duties that take up a large portion of their time dedicated to daily chores.

Shortly, the Football World Cup to be contested in South Africa will take up all of their free hours as they follow with growing excitement the vicissitudes of the most popular characters.

They will follow every step taken by Maradona and remember the spectacular goal he scored that determined Argentina’s victory in one of the classics. Again, another Argentinean is coming up spectacularly; he is a short man but he is very fast, he whizzes like a lightning and with his head or legs shoots the ball at amazing speed. His last name, Messi, of Italian descent, is already known to and repeated by the fans.

The fans imagination goes wild with the images of the numerous stadiums where the competitions take place. The architects and designers have created works never dreamed of by the public.

The governments, forced to go from one meeting to another to discharge the obligations that the new times have placed on their shoulders, have no time to know the mountain of news constantly carried by radio, television and the printed press.

Almost everything depends exclusively of the information provided by their advisers. Some of the most powerful and important Heads of State, who make the fundamental decisions, customarily use the cell phones to communicate among themselves several times a day. An increasing number of millions of people in the world live attached to such devices even though no one knows the effect they will have on human health. This softens the envy we could feel for not being able to enjoy such possibilities in our time, a time that is rapidly moving away in very few years and almost imperceptibly.

Yesterday, in the midst of the turmoil, there was a report that today the UN Security Council might vote a pending resolution to decide on the imposition of a fourth round of sanctions to Iran for refusing to cease the enrichment of uranium.

The irony of this situation is that if it were Israel, the United States and its closest allies would immediately say that Israel did not sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and veto the resolution.

However, if Iran is simply accused of producing up to 20% enriched uranium, there is an immediate request to apply economic sanctions to strangle that country; and it is obvious that Israel would act as usual, with fascist fanaticism, the same as the soldiers of the elite troops dropped from helicopters before daybreak on those traveling in the solidarity flotilla carrying food to the people besieged in Gaza, killing several people and injuring tens of them who were later arrested alongside the crews of the ships.

Obviously, they will try to destroy the facilities where Iran is enriching part of the uranium it produces. It is also evident that Iran will not accept such inconsistent treatment.

The consequences of the US imperial imbroglios could be catastrophic and affect every inhabitant of the planet much more than all of the economic crises combined.


Fidel Castro Ruz
June 8, 2010
12:33 p.m.

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