Latin America
Related: About this forumWilliam Blum: Cuba … Again … Still … Forever
Cuba
Again
Still
Forever
by William Blum | April 8, 2014
Is there actually a limit? Will the United States ever stop trying to overthrow the Cuban government? Entire books have been written documenting the unrelenting ways Washington has tried to get rid of tiny Cubas horrid socialism from military invasion to repeated assassination attempts to an embargo that President Clintons National Security Advisor called the most pervasive sanctions ever imposed on a nation in the history of mankind. But nothing has ever come even close to succeeding. The horrid socialism keeps on inspiring people all over the world. Its the darnedest thing. Can providing people free or remarkably affordable health care, education, housing, food and culture be all that important?
And now its Cuban Twitter an elaborately complex system set up by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to disguise its American origins and financing, aiming to bring about a Cuban Spring uprising. USAID sought to first build a Cuban audience, mostly young people; then the plan was to push them toward dissent, hoping the messaging network would reach critical mass so that dissidents could organize smart mobs mass gatherings called at a moments notice that might trigger political demonstrations or renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society. Its too bad its now been exposed, because we all know how wonderful the Egyptian, Syrian, Libyan, and other Arab Springs have turned out.
Heres USAID speaking after their scheme was revealed on April 3: Cubans were able to talk among themselves, and we are proud of that. We are thus asked to believe that normally the poor downtrodden Cubans have no good or safe way to communicate with each other. Is the US National Security Agency working for the Cuban government now?
The Associated Press, which broke the story, asks us further to believe that the truth about most things important in the world is being kept from the Cuban people by the Castro regime, and that the Cuban Twitter would have opened peoples eyes. But what information might a Cuban citizen discover online that the government would not want him to know about? I cant imagine. Cubans are in constant touch with relatives in the US, by mail and in person. They get US television programs from Miami and other southern cities; both CNN and Telesur (Venezuela, covering Latin America) are seen regularly on Cuban television; international conferences on all manner of political, economic and social issues are held regularly in Cuba. Ive spoken at more than one myself. What it must be asked does USAID, as well as the American media, think are the great dark secrets being kept from the Cuban people by the nasty commie government?
More:
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2014/04/08/cuba-again-still-forever-2/#.U0T90WePLmQ
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Repeated exposure to lies, easily verified by eyes on the ground.
Repeated exposure to the rewards of socialism, easily verified.
And they must be doing something right, if it makes US policy!
flamingdem
(39,335 posts)not only that it was poorly conceived and stupid to such a degree that the whole idea of USAID should be discussed by congress. Kerry knows full well that's it's bs and he tried to reduced funding before becoming SOS. This better not get ignored..