Fidel Castro warns of nuclear war between US and Iran

[Turborama]

Source: Metro

The 83-year-old addressed Cuba's National Assembly on Saturday for the first time since stepping down as president in 2006. He looked little different from the closing days of his regime as he entered the assembly chamber wearing his trademark fatigues and sporting his familiar straggly beard, as deputies cheered and shouted "Viva Fidel".

Although renowned for his lengthy addresses, he restricted his speech to just ten minutes and ignored Cuba's current financial plight, instead focusing on foreign affairs.

The revolutionary leader revealed that he believes the US and Israel may launch a nuclear attack on Iran, as the dispute about the Tehran government's own nuclear programme continues.

"If war breaks out the current social order will suddenly disappear and the price will be infinitely greater," Mr Castro said. The veteran politician added that nuclear war would change the world order and that it is up to Cuba and other nations to persuade Barack Obama not to attack Iran or North Korea.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/837396-fidel-castro-warns-of-nuclear-war-between-us-and-iran

---

Video here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10904313

BBC article on this here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10903048

[DonCoquixote]

1. North Korea

Is the one that has been actually threatening us, Mr. Castro. Ask whatever Il-Jung is actually ruling (and know would probably know the answer to that question better than we do, considering that Dear Leader is either dead or in full vigor, depending on what you read.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Oh

US Professors Raise Doubts About Report on South Korean Ship Sinking http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/US-Professors-Raise-Doubts-About-Report-on-South-Korean-Ship-Sinking--98098809.html

[cowman]

26. It must have been

the evil capitalist U.S. who sank the SK ship so we could initiate a war with NK:sarcasm: :rofl:

[harmonicon]

7. give me a fucking break

How do you suggest North Korea could ever threaten the US? What capabilities do they have that could ever be any threat to the US? Oh, none? That's what I thought.

[Hawkowl]

15. Well the 25,000 troops in South Korea

The troops in South Korea would definitely be threatened. But mainland US? Not so much.

[harmonicon]

16. Yeah, so who's threatening who?

We've had soldiers at their border for decades, but somehow I'm supposed to buy that they're a threat to us? I don't think so. I'll be worried when they have a functional ICBM program and a few tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers and heavy armaments on the US border.

[cowman]

27. They do have tens of thousands of troops and heavy armaments

on the border.

[NickB79]

35. Since when did S. Korea become a US state? nt

[Pavulon]

39. Same time as West Germany?(nt)

[Pavulon]

21. That 3 stage rocket headed towards hawaii or the ones they shot

over japan a few years ago will now be assumed nuclear. Firing ballistic missiles towards nations will earn a response. The Trident D5 will not break up on the second stage but will shower them with warheads.

They have a million man army and are at war with south korea and threaten japan whom we have a mutual defense treaty with. Any attack on japan will require an automatic US response.

You understand that right?

[Winterblues]

43. Especially after we kicked their ass so bad in 1952

D'Oh

[dipsydoodle]

46. Along with numerous S. Korean civilians

The attack, though not the civilian casualties, has been corroborated by declassified United States military documents recently reviewed by South Korean investigators. On Sept. 10, 1950, five days before the Inchon landing, according to the documents, 43 American warplanes swarmed over Wolmi, dropping 93 napalm canisters to “burn out” its eastern slope in an attempt to clear the way for American troops.

The documents and survivors’ stories persuaded a South Korean commission investigating long-suppressed allegations of wartime atrocities by Koreans and Americans to rule recently that the attack violated international conventions on war and to ask the country’s leaders to seek compensation from the United States.

The ruling was one of several by the government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in recent months that accused the United States military of using indiscriminate force on three separate occasions in 1950 and 1951 as troops struggled against Communists from the North and from China. The commission says at least 228 civilians, and perhaps hundreds more, were killed in the three attacks.

In one case, the commission said, at least 167 villagers, more than half of them women, were burned to death or asphyxiated in Tanyang, 87 miles southeast of Seoul, when American planes dropped napalm at the entrance of a cave filled with refugees.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20412.htm

I don't have to root around much to find this shit : we get it in TV documentaries here in the UK.

[harmonicon]

48. we invaded their country

I think they have very good reasons to be afraid of a US invasion: we've had soldiers massed at their border since an unresolved war 60 years ago (where we invaded their country in a war of aggression), have started two illegal wars of aggression in the past decade, and have a media (and our last president) which brands them as being "evil". I'd be scared as shit if I were the North Koreans, and I'd sure as hell want any deterrent I could get.

[defendandprotect]

50. Kissinger sliced it in half with 48th parallel decision ....

[defendandprotect]

52. +1000% --

[defendandprotect]

53. +1000% --

[OmahaBlueDog]

3. If the US is going into nuclear war, I'd bet Korea...

..but I'm betting China will take care of that problem before it comes to that. Nuclear war would be bad for business for all concerned.

[unkachuck]

4. "If war breaks out the current social order will suddenly disappear..."

....we would do well to heed the 83 year old mans' wisdom and perspective....perpetual war may become more perpetual and expensive....

[Judi Lynn]

5. They never cease attempting to hit below the belt, sneaking in his "scraggy beard" reference.

How MANY 83 year old people do we know who have extremely full, lustrous, flowing beards, anyhoo?

Reminds you of that same same psyops criminality they attempted to use against him in the 1960's we've heard about so long!

~snip~
The Cuban Project played a significant role in the events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The Project's six-phase schedule was presented by counter-insurgency specialist Air Force General Edward Lansdale on February 20, 1962; it was overseen by Attorney-General Robert Kennedy. President John F. Kennedy was briefed on the operation guidelines on March 16, 1962. Lansdale outlined the coordinated program of political, psychological, military, sabotage, and intelligence operations as well as assassination attempts on key political leaders. Each month since his presentation, a different method was in place to destabilize the communist regime, including the publishing of views against Fidel Castro, armaments for militant opposition groups, the establishment of guerilla bases throughout the country and preparations for an October military intervention in Cuba. Many individual plans were devised by the CIA to assassinate Castro. Plans to discredit Castro in the eyes of the Cuban public included contaminating his clothing with thallium salts that would make his trademark beard fall out and spraying a broadcasting studio with hallucinogens before a televised speech. Assassination plots included poisoning a box of Castro's favorite cigars with botulinus toxin and placing explosive seashells in his favorite diving spots.<4>

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Project

http://d3nchsmj89snox.cloudfront.net.nyud.net:8090/images/media/doc/b17/1239028410-large.jpg http://www.moonbattery.com.nyud.net:8090/fidel-castro_che-guevara.jpg

http://assets.nydailynews.com.nyud.net:8090/img/2008/02/20/gal_fidel_10_1959.jpg

[rabs]

8. Not only the beard reference, but the photo in the article

This is the (file) photo used to illustrate the story, with Fidel in uniform.




This is the photo as he appeared this morning at the National Assembly. Note he is wearing an olive green shirt, not a uniform. Note also that his beard is trimmed, not scaggly.

Another example of how readers are misled. Deliberate? :shrug:

[Pavulon]

10. Just another tinpot waiting to die.

no more no less. When he rots his system dies with him. I bet hugo looks like that going out of office.

[Wednesdays]

14. Top 10 Trivia Tips about Hugo Chavez!

1. It took Hugo Chavez 22 years to build the Taj Mahal.
2. Hugo Chavez cannot be detected by infrared cameras.
3. Hugo Chavez is only six percent water.
4. If you chew gum while peeling Hugo Chavez then it will stop you from crying!
5. 99 percent of the pumpkins sold in the US end up as Hugo Chavez.
6. If you lace Hugo Chavez from the inside to the outside, the fit will be snugger around your big toe.
7. Long ago, the people of Nicaragua believed that if they threw Hugo Chavez into a volcano it would stop erupting!
8. On average, women blink nearly twice as much as Hugo Chavez!
9. Human beings are the only animals that copulate while facing Hugo Chavez.
10. About one tenth of Hugo Chavez is permanently covered in ice!

[Ghost Dog]

17. Ah. El País went for this one:

(center front page):

Beard trimmed, indeed. And eye well-focused.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Amazing recovery, considering where he's been. Thanks for the El Pais photo. n/t

[Caretha]

42. Dick Cheney has got to be really jealous

I hope it makes him weap to look at the other despot that is doing better than his sick puny ass.

[dipsydoodle]

47. Great picture.

:thumbsup:

[Judi Lynn]

28. Thanks for posting that totally new photo. Hadn't seen it anywhere.

He is very well groomed, clearly.

They are really reaching when they are interested in such elemental, crude levels as to try to fool with reality like that.

Shows time after time they absolutely can't be fully believed, there are other insterests at work.

[defendandprotect]

51. Castro has always been an extremely attractive man... even more so when you understand

what he's saying in his speeches!!

[rug]

6. He's one of the few living people who has experienced it first hand.

[Xenotime]

44. Agreed. We would be wise to listen to his advice.

[Pavulon]

9. coming from a poon that just about kicked off megadeath on a massive scale

that is funny. He is like lil kim, just not quite as crazy in his kidnapping and raping of japanese women.

His system will rot with him.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Statistics on Crimes Committed by US Troops in south Korea

Korea International War Crimes Tribunal, June 23, 2001, New York
Report on US Crimes in Korea 1945-2001

19. Korea International War Crimes Tribunal, June 23, 2001, New York
Report on US Crimes in Korea 1945-2001

19. Statistics on Crimes Committed
by US Troops in south Korea

Civil Network for a Peaceful Korea

Over 100,000 Cases of Crimes, Over 100,000 Victims

Crimes committed by US soldiers were found as early as when US troops were first stationed in south Korea. According to the south Korean government's official statistics, 50,082 crimes were committed by US soldiers from 1967 to 1998 (including those by soldiers' families), and 56,904 US soldiers were involved (including soldiers' families) in these crimes. The statistics imply that the actual figure may be higher if take into account those cases not handled by the south Korean police. Based on the statistics, the total number of crimes committed by US soldiers since September 8, 1945 (when they were first stationed in Korea) is estimated to be around 100,000. Unfortunately the south Korean government does not have statistics on US soldiers' crimes committed before 1967, because SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) went into effect in 1967, allowing the south Korean court jurisdiction over crimes committed by US soldiers with narrow and limited application.

So, from 1945 to 1967, the US had full authority in court. south Koreans were even subjected to American rulings (of course, in English language). And during 1945-1948, when the US military government took control over the south Korean government, a judge was an active US soldier, with no jury system although the court followed American court system. Many problems aroused including language barrier, lack of cultural understanding and even prejudice on the part of the judge, unfair practices on the part of interpreters.

Study by Ministry of Justice of south Korea shows that among the 39,452 cases (45,183 US soldiers involved) of crimes committed by US soldiers from 1967 to 1987, south Korea was able to exercise its jurisdiction only in 234 cases, punishing only 351 US soldiers. Among them, 84 US soldiers were convicted of rape and 89 US soldiers were convicted of murder and robbery. Taking into account the fact that rape cases were more common before 1967, and that many rape cases were intentionally hidden and forgotten, the actual number of rape cases committed by US soldiers will be much higher than what official figures suggest.

1980, the year of civilian uprising in Kwangju alone, over 1,679 crimes committed by US soldiers were reported.

Due to the military dictator, Chun Doo Hwan’s martial law at the time, south Korea lost its jurisdiction that year. Not even a single case was handled in south Korean court.

Countless cases of rape were committed by US soldiers, including a woman gang raped by 4 soldiers' in March 1946, a 14-year-old schoolgirl raped in 1956, a daughter and a mother both raped in 1967, a woman raped by 8 soldiers in the mountains in 1971, a month pregnant teacher raped in 1986 by 5 soldiers in the middle of Team Spirit military exercise, a handicapped schoolgirl sexually harassed in 1996, and a 6-year-old girl sexually harassed in May 1997.

Gregory Henderson, who served at the US embassy in Seoul in the 1950s and 1960s, recalls in his thesis 'politically dangerous factors in US troops exercising operation & control right in Korea':

" ... Every US soldier from officer down enjoys material indulgence in Korea. Material indulgence includes abundant supply of fresh bodies of young local women."

Earnst W. Carston, a former chaplain in US military camp in Korea, also harshly criticized US soldiers in his report to the US government in October 1964: "90% of US soldiers in Korea lead immoral sex lives. On being stationed to their posts, a soldier indulges in illegal sex with prostitutes, and when returning to the US, he sells off the woman, her house, and furniture to the new arrival".


Civil Network for a Peaceful Korea

Over 100,000 Cases of Crimes, Over 100,000 Victims

Crimes committed by US soldiers were found as early as when US troops were first stationed in south Korea. According to the south Korean government's official statistics, 50,082 crimes were committed by US soldiers from 1967 to 1998 (including those by soldiers' families), and 56,904 US soldiers were involved (including soldiers' families) in these crimes. The statistics imply that the actual figure may be higher if take into account those cases not handled by the south Korean police. Based on the statistics, the total number of crimes committed by US soldiers since September 8, 1945 (when they were first stationed in Korea) is estimated to be around 100,000. Unfortunately the south Korean government does not have statistics on US soldiers' crimes committed before 1967, because SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) went into effect in 1967, allowing the south Korean court jurisdiction over crimes committed by US soldiers with narrow and limited application.

So, from 1945 to 1967, the US had full authority in court. south Koreans were even subjected to American rulings (of course, in English language). And during 1945-1948, when the US military government took control over the south Korean government, a judge was an active US soldier, with no jury system although the court followed American court system. Many problems aroused including language barrier, lack of cultural understanding and even prejudice on the part of the judge, unfair practices on the part of interpreters.

Study by Ministry of Justice of south Korea shows that among the 39,452 cases (45,183 US soldiers involved) of crimes committed by US soldiers from 1967 to 1987, south Korea was able to exercise its jurisdiction only in 234 cases, punishing only 351 US soldiers. Among them, 84 US soldiers were convicted of rape and 89 US soldiers were convicted of murder and robbery. Taking into account the fact that rape cases were more common before 1967, and that many rape cases were intentionally hidden and forgotten, the actual number of rape cases committed by US soldiers will be much higher than what official figures suggest.

1980, the year of civilian uprising in Kwangju alone, over 1,679 crimes committed by US soldiers were reported.

Due to the military dictator, Chun Doo Hwan’s martial law at the time, south Korea lost its jurisdiction that year. Not even a single case was handled in south Korean court.

Countless cases of rape were committed by US soldiers, including a woman gang raped by 4 soldiers' in March 1946, a 14-year-old schoolgirl raped in 1956, a daughter and a mother both raped in 1967, a woman raped by 8 soldiers in the mountains in 1971, a month pregnant teacher raped in 1986 by 5 soldiers in the middle of Team Spirit military exercise, a handicapped schoolgirl sexually harassed in 1996, and a 6-year-old girl sexually harassed in May 1997.

Gregory Henderson, who served at the US embassy in Seoul in the 1950s and 1960s, recalls in his thesis 'politically dangerous factors in US troops exercising operation & control right in Korea':

" ... Every US soldier from officer down enjoys material indulgence in Korea. Material indulgence includes abundant supply of fresh bodies of young local women."

Earnst W. Carston, a former chaplain in US military camp in Korea, also harshly criticized US soldiers in his report to the US government in October 1964: "90% of US soldiers in Korea lead immoral sex lives. On being stationed to their posts, a soldier indulges in illegal sex with prostitutes, and when returning to the US, he sells off the woman, her house, and furniture to the new arrival".

More:
http://www.iacenter.org/Koreafiles/ktc-civilnetwork.htm

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Pavulon]

20. Boy the North sure is a great place. Travel there on your next vacay.

enjoy the sights, the starvation and death brought by the centralized economy run by a madman.

While south Korea thrives the North is a hermit kingdom run by a stroked out madman. The world will be better when their systems rot along with their bodies.

[Pavulon]

22. Your bottle of grand cru has appreciated.. I remember in 07

a post saying I will send you a bottle (or case god forbid) when hugo leaves office in a peaceful transition of power. That bottle of wine is worth at least $100 more now.

[Judi Lynn]

34. Wrong poster. Have never made a bet with you. Sorry. Not interested. n/t

[Pavulon]

36. Don't worry, you will never see it. he will never leave

unless it was putin style.

[Mika]

18. Mr Fidel Castro is no longer the Head of State of the Republic of Cuba.

No need for a 5 hour high intensity graduate class level speech from him. He has been writing an op/ed column since his surgery. People know where he stands on most all matters.

It was very appropriate for Mr Fidel Castro to not broach or overly influence the duties of the National Assembly by discussing matters that are on their agenda before them in this session of the Assembly.

His anti nuclear war speech was right on the mark, and one of the most important issues to resolve for the next generation. It threatens all who live on planet earth, and that threat is exacerbated by chest thumping and saber rattling by nuclear armed nations.

The cream of the new generation of Cuban leadership is rising to the top.

---

[slackmaster]

19. "Good evening, my fellow citizens:..."

"...This Government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military build-up on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive Missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.

Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., I directed that our surveillance be stepped up. And having now confirmed and completed our evaluation of the evidence and our decision on a course of action, this Government feels obliged to report this new crisis to you in fullest detail.

The characteristics of these new missile sites indicate two distinct types of installations. Several of them include medium range ballistic missiles, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for a distance of more than 1000 nautical miles. Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the south-eastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean area.

Additional sites not yet completed appear to be designed for intermediate range ballistic missiles capable of travelling more than twice as far-and thus capable of striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere, ranging as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru. In addition, jet bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are now being un-crated and assembled in Cuba, while the necessary air bases are being prepared.

This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base- by the presence of these large, long-range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas, in flagrant and deliberate defiance of the Rio Pact of 1947, the traditions of this Nation and hemisphere, the joint resolution of the 87th Congress, the Charter of the United Nations, and my own public warnings to the Soviets on September 4 and 13. This action also contradicts the repeated assurances of Soviet spokesmen, both publicly and privately delivered, that the arms build-up in Cuba would retain its original defensive character, and that the Soviet Union had no need or desire to station strategic missiles on the territory of any other nation.

The size of this undertaking makes clear that it has been planned for some months. Yet only last month, after I had made clear the distinction between any introduction of ground-to- ground missiles and the existence of defensive anti-aircraft missiles, the Soviet Government publicly stated on September 11th that, and I quote, "the armaments and military equipment sent to Cuba are designed exclusively for defensive purposes," that, and I quote the Soviet Government, "there is no need for the Soviet Government to shift its weapons... for a retaliatory blow to any other country, for instance Cuba," and that, and I quote their government, "the Soviet Union has so powerful rockets to carry these nuclear warheads that there is no need to search for sites for them beyond the boundaries of the Soviet Union." That statement was false. Only last Thursday, as evidence of this rapid offensive build-up was already in my hand, Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko told me in my office that he was instructed to make it clear once again, as he said his government had already done, that Soviet assistance to Cuba, and I quote, "pursued solely for the purpose of contributing to the defence capabilities of Cuba," that, and I quote him, "training by Soviet specialists of Cuban nationals in handling defensive armaments was by no means offensive, and if it were otherwise," Mr. Gromyko went on, "the Soviet Government would never become involved in rendering such assistance." That statement also was false.

Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents an efficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril. Nuclear weapons are so destructive and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use or any sudden change in their deployment may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace.

For many years, both the Soviet Union and the United States, recognizing this fact, have deployed strategic nuclear weapons with great care, never upsetting the precarious status quo which insured that these weapons would not be used in the absence of some vital challenge. Our own strategic missiles have never been transferred to the territory of any other nation under a cloak of secrecy and deception; and our history - unlike that of the Soviets since the end of World War II - demonstrates that we have no desire to dominate or conquer any other nation or impose our system upon its people. Nevertheless, American citizens have become adjusted to living daily on the bull's-eye of Soviet missiles located inside the U.S.S.R. or in submarines.

In that sense, missiles in Cuba add to an already clear and present danger - although it should be noted the nations of Latin America have never previously been subjected to a potential nuclear threat.

But this secret, swift, and extraordinary build-up of Communist missiles-in an area well known to have a special and historical relationship to the United States and the nations of the Western Hemisphere, in violation of Soviet assurances, and in defiance of American and hemispheric policy - this sudden, clandestine decision to station strategic weapons for the first time outside of Soviet soil - is a deliberately provocative and unjustified change in the status quo which cannot be accepted by this country, if our courage and our commitments are ever to be trusted again by either friend or foe.

The 1930's taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. This nation is opposed to war. We are also true to our word. Our unswerving objective, therefore, must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country, and to secure their withdrawal or elimination from the Western Hemisphere.
Our policy has been one of patience and restraint, as befits a peaceful and powerful nation, which leads a worldwide alliance. We have been determined not to be diverted from our central concerns by mere irritants and fanatics. But now further action is required - and it is under way; and these actions may only be the beginning. We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth - but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced.

Acting, therefore, in the defence of our own security and of the entire Western Hemisphere, and under the authority end trusted to me by the Constitution as endorsed by the resolution of the Congress, I have directed that the following initial steps be taken immediately:

First: To halt this offensive build-up, a strict quarantine on all offensive military in equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back. This quarantine will be extended, if needed, to other types of cargo and carriers. We are not at this time, however, denying the necessities of life as the Soviets attempted to do in their Berlin blockade of 1948 -

Second: I have directed the continued and increased close surveillance of Cuba and its military build-up. The foreign ministers of the OAS, in their communiqué of October 6th, rejected secrecy on such matters in this hemisphere. Should these offensive military preparations continue, thus increasing the threat to the hemisphere, further action will be justified. I have directed the Armed Forces to prepare for any eventualities; and I trust that in the interest of both the Cuban people and the Soviet technicians at the sites, the hazards to all concerned of continuing this threat will be recognized.

Third: It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.

Fourth: As a necessary military precaution., I have reinforced our base at Guantanamo, evacuated today the dependents of our personnel there, and ordered additional military units to be on a standby alert basis.

Fifth: We are calling tonight for an immediate meeting of the Organ of Consultation under the Organization of American States, to consider this threat to hemispheric security and to invoke articles 6 and 8 of the Rio Treaty in support of all necessary action. The United Nations Charter allows for regional security arrangements - and the nations of this hemisphere decided long ago against the military presence of outside powers. Our other allies around the world have also been alerted.

Sixth: Under the Charter of the United Nations, we are asking tonight that an emergency meeting of the Security Council be convoked without delay to take action against this latest Soviet threat to world peace. Our resolution will call for the prompt dismantling and withdrawal of all offensive weapons in Cuba, under the supervision of U.N. observers, before the quarantine can be lifted.

Seventh and finally: I call upon Chairman Khrushchev to halt and eliminate this clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace and to stable relations between our two nations. I call upon him further to abandon this course of world domination, and to join in an historic effort to end the perilous arms race and to transform the history of man. He has an opportunity now to move the world back from the abyss of destruction - by returning to his government's own words that it had no need to station missiles outside its own territory, and withdrawing these weapons from Cuba - by refraining from any action which will widen or deepen the present crisis - and then by participating in a search for peaceful and permanent solutions.

This Nation is prepared to present its case against the Soviet threat to peace, and our own proposals for a peaceful world, at any time and in any forum - in the OAS, in the United Nations, or in any other meeting that could be useful - without limiting our freedom of action. We have in the past made strenuous efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. We have proposed the elimination of all arms and military bases in a fair and effective disarmament treaty. We are prepared to discuss new proposals for the removal of tensions on both sides - including the possibilities of a genuinely independent Cuba, free to determine its own destiny. We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union - for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples. But it is difficult to settle or even discuss these problems in an atmosphere of intimidation. That is why this latest Soviet threat - or any oilier threat which is made either independently or in response to our actions this week - must and will be met with determination. Any hostile move anywhere in the world against the safety and freedom of peoples to whom we are committed - including in particular the brave people of West Berlin - will be met by whatever action is needed.

Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty and justice for all. And I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed - and how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals.

They are puppets and agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends and neighbours in the Americas - and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war - the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil.

These new weapons are not in your interest. They contribute nothing to your peace and well-being. They can only undermine it. But this country has no wish to cause you to suffer or to impose any system upon you. We know that your lives and land are being used as pawns by those who deny your freedom.

Many times in the past, the Cuban people have risen to throw out tyrants who destroyed their liberty. And I have no doubt that most Cubans today look forward to the time when they will be truly from foreign domination, free to choose their own leaders, free to select their own system, free to own their own land, free to speak and write and worship without fear or degradation. And then shall Cuba be welcomed back to the society of free nations and to the association of nations of this hemisphere.

My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead - months in which both our patience and our will be tested - months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are - but it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high - but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission.

Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right-not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved. "


President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
October 22, 1962

[Mika]

23. But then it turned out that there were no nuke warheads ever in Cuba. Ever.

Meanwhile, during the "Cuban" missile crisis, the entire SE US was lined with nuclear warhead armed missiles, some on mobile launchers some from silos.

Cuba had no nuclear warheads. Zero.

The USA had hundreds of tactical nuclear warheads pointed at Cuba.

You can still visit some of the Nike missile bases located in the Everglades National Park.

Pictures of Nike missile bases located in the Everglades National Park
www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Nike%20missile%20bases%20located%20in%20the%20Everglades%20National%20Park&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1401&bih=708

Yet, the time period is called the "Cuban" missile crisis. :crazy:


We've ALWAYS been at war with Eastasia

---

[slackmaster]

24. There is evidence that warheads had been delivered to Cuba before the blockade

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/dobbs/warheads.htm

http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2002_11/cubanmissile

[cowman]

25. Bullshit

the warheads were delilvered before the quarantine and Fidel said later that if he had had control of the missiles that he would have launched them.Please quit trying to re-write history.

[stevenleser]

30. Your point depends on a number of things

#1 - That the missiles/warheads had they been there, were necessarily under Fidel's control and not under control of Soviet advisors and technicians.

#2 - That we believe Castro.

I find #1 hard to believe. I do not think the Soviets would have done business that way. They strike me as folks that would have wanted operational control over missiles they stationed anywhere.

As far as #2 is concerned, Castro's honesty and fairness is questionable whenever something regarding the US is being discussed.

[Mika]

32. I stand by my post.

Cuba never had nuclear armed missiles. Castro never had any control over any nukes.
Castro railed against the US for its global nuclear aggression, and called for retaliatory nuke strikes by the Soviets against the US if the US initiated nuclear strikes against Cuba. This is on the record.
Cuba was a cold war pawn - as was Turkey.
Castro and all Cubans learned the lesson. It marked a critical change in the direction of the Cuban Revolution.

---

[cowman]

41. In a way your right

the Soviets had them in cuba and had operational control of the missiles and warheads, but you are completely wrong about no warheads on cuban soil, they were there before the blockade and Castro did say years later that if he had had control of the missiles, he would have launched them against the U.S., and a Soviet General later said that's why Castro was not given a role in their use or deployment. You can stand by your statement all you want, doesn't mean it's accurate or true.

[NickB79]

37. Oh come on. Not even one link to back up your assertion?

Anything at all that could validate your claim?

[Billy Burnett]

40. Nice misdirection.

What the fuck does the Cuban missile crisis have to do with this?

[boppers]

57. Sure JFK, sure.....

"our history - unlike that of the Soviets since the end of World War II - demonstrates that we have no desire to dominate or conquer any other nation or impose our system upon its people."

I can't believe he said this with a straight face, or that people actually bought it.

[The Straight Story]

31. Are there any reports yet of US citizens flooding there in rafts to embrace his paradise

And escape the tyranny of Obama? Are there are a lot of folks south of the border flooding into Cuba yet? How about from Canada?

You would think Venezula and Cuba would be flooded with people from here who love the freedoms of those places. Makes no sense. I bet it is just the press covering up the stories about people fleeing here to live there.

[Prometheus Bound]

38. Almost a million Canadian tourists visit Cuba each year.

Canada is Cuba's largest source of tourists - 35% of the total.

Cuba and Canada have always had a good relationship as far as I know.

[defendandprotect]

54. Shouldn't be so smug . . . many people are looking to move on before we

become any more fascist in America --

[MellowDem]

33. Of course he doesn't address Cuba's finances...

or their recent decision to became even more capitalistic. Fidel wants to live in his Cold War dream until he dies.

[Mika]

45. Why should he? He's out of office and doesn't run anything.

If you had been reading his many articles since his retirement then you would know that he has repeatedly said that its past time for the younger generation to step forward and direct Cuba's future. They are too, now over 60 percent of the elected Cuban National Assembly is under 40 years old.

---

[defendandprotect]

55. Finances? Which have nothing to do with US persecution of Cuba for 50 years ... ???

How long has the embargo been going on?

And why? Because we feared the "socialism" we pushed Castro to -- ??

The only ones dreaming of a "Cold War" are those still supporting America's MIC --

and refinancing the Bush wars!!

[defendandprotect]

49. Always good to keep in mind we are still warmongering everywhere ....

[MoonGlow]

56. Israel and not the US would strike