'Shallow, Vitriolic' Comments and Actions by Cuban Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodriguez
PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four-Star General Barry
McCaffrey (Ret), former White House Drug Czar and SouthCom (Latin
America) Commander, is canceling a scheduled January 3-6 trip to Cuba to
discuss U.S.-Cuban future cooperation because of recent "shallow,
vitriolic" comments and actions by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno
Rodriguez. In a prior trip to the island, McCaffrey met with top Cuban
government, political, military, and academic leaders – including a
seven hour meeting with Fidel Castro in Feb 2002.
McCaffrey's letter to Dr. Wayne Smith of the Center for International
Policy, which was sponsoring McCaffrey's trip, follows:
22 December 2009
Dr Wayne Smith
Center for International Policy
1717 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC. 20036
Wayne,
Just got in last night to read the Reuters reports that Cuban Foreign
Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced President Obama at the Copenhagen
Conference as an "imperial and arrogant liar" in the most vile and
personal terms imaginable.
The Foreign Minister could not have borrowed talking points from Cuba's
worst enemies to more effectively harm the country's future economic and
political interests.
This type of shallow and vitriolic 1960's public diplomacy also makes
Cuban leadership appear to be non-serious, polemical amateurs. President
Obama is the most thoughtful and non-ideological US Chief Executive that
the Cubans have seen in 50 years. This Foreign Minister Rodriguez
speech probably slammed the window shut on US Congressional and
Administration leaders being willing to support bringing Cuba back into
the community of nations.
This situation makes me very sad for the Cuban people. I see little
reason to visit Cuba and deal with leadership of this appalling lack of
good judgment.
Please withdraw my name for the proposed visit to Cuba in January.
Barry McCaffrey
General USA (Ret)
CONTACT: Bob Weiner, +1-301-283-0821 or Rebecca Vander Linde,
+1-202-306-1200, both of Robert Weiner Associates and BR McCaffrey
Associates LLC
SOURCE Robert Weiner Associates and BR McCaffrey Associates LLC
Four Star Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret) Cancels Trip to Cuba Because of
'Shallow, Vitriolic' Comments and Actions by Cuban Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodriguez (24 December 2009)
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/prnewswire/press_releases/national/District_of_Columbia/2009/12/23/DC30306
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