May 23, 2008 3:50 PM
No doubt to the delight of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., repressive Cuban
dictator Fidel Castro has attacked him in one of his Larry King-like
columns for the Cuban Communist Party "newspaper" Granma.
"A deluge of speeches and lies they directed at Cuba," Castro writes of
McCain and President Bush. "How far they are from knowing Cuba and its
people."
"McCain, in his book 'Faith of My Fathers,' admitted that he was among
the last five students in his course in West Point," Castro wrote,
according to Reuters. "He's showing it."
In Miami earlier this week McCain pledged to uphold the U.S. embargo
against Cuba unless and until Cuba frees political prisoners and holds
actual elections.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, McCain charged, "wants to sit down
unconditionally for a presidential meeting with Raúl Castro," who took
the reins (and whip) from his brother Fidel in February. "These steps
would send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators -- there is no
need to undertake fundamental reforms, they can simply wait for a
unilateral change in U.S. policy. I believe we should give hope to the
Cuban people, not to the Castro regime.''
Obama spoke to the Cuban-American community today -- a pivotal group in
a key swing state -- and McCain has been hitting him for once having
pushed for the embargo to be lifted.
Calling for a new direction when it comes to Cuba, Obama today said as
president he would allow unlimited family travel and remittances to the
island. "It's time for more than tough talk that never yields results.
It's time for a new strategy," he said. "It's time to let Cuban
Americans see their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers.
It's time to let Cuban American money make their families less dependent
upon the Castro regime."
Obama said, "John McCain's been going around the country talking about
how much I want to meet with Raul Castro, as if I'm looking for a social
gathering - I'm going to invite him over and have some tea. That's not
what I said. John McCain knows it. After eight years of the disastrous
policies of George Bush, it is time to pursue direct diplomacy, with
friend and foe alike, without preconditions."
That condemnation from Castro is like an in-kind contribution to the
McCain campaign...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/castro-attacks.html
No comments:
Post a Comment