Obama: I will remove Cuba from the US Govt's list of state sponsors of terrorism

[Little-Acorn]

Just heard about this on the news, no link yet.

Is that a function of the President? Or of the State Dept.? Or...??

BTW, do we have good evidence that Cuba is no longer sponsoring terrorism?

If we do, then yes, they should be off the list.

But how do we know?

Is this a routine, justifiable move due to Cuba renouncing and stopping their terrorism?

Or is it just another case of Obama kissing up to dictators and chronic liars in hopes they will keep their word "this time" and be "nice" to us in return - a hope that has met with disaster every time it's tried?

 

[Katzndogz]

It's another case of obama's puckered lips.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Good. Time for a new generation to fix what the last generation damaged so badly.

 

[aaronleland]

Those damn dirty Cuban terrorists.

Bay of Pigs Invasion - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[aaronleland]

Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[TheOldSchool]

Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

The world would be a better place if any of those had worked.

 

[MisterBeale]

Just heard about this on the news, no link yet.

Is that a function of the President? Or of the State Dept.? Or...??

BTW, do we have good evidence that Cuba is no longer sponsoring terrorism?

If we do, then yes, they should be off the list.

But how do we know?

Is this a routine, justifiable move due to Cuba renouncing and stopping their terrorism?

Or is it just another case of Obama kissing up to dictators and chronic liars in hopes they will keep their word "this time" and be "nice" to us in return - a hope that has met with disaster every time it's tried?

How do we know McDonald's isn't sponsoring Terrorism?


The truth is, the biggest state sponsor of terrorism is the CIA, but is the USA on that list? Nooooo.

And what about Israel, Israel sponsors terrorism as well. . .


These are all known facts, so having the media bandy about the whole, "state sponsors of terror" label is completely useless. All governments clandestinely fund terror groups. Haven't you ever heard of the School for the Americas? Don't you know where Al-Qaeda gets most of it's funding and intelligence contacts? Hell, ISIS is an AstroTurf nation building exercise built and engineered by a coalition of intelligence agencies.

Israel and Proxy Terrorism The Atlantic

 

[Asclepias]

Just heard about this on the news, no link yet.

Is that a function of the President? Or of the State Dept.? Or...??

BTW, do we have good evidence that Cuba is no longer sponsoring terrorism?

If we do, then yes, they should be off the list.

But how do we know?

Is this a routine, justifiable move due to Cuba renouncing and stopping their terrorism?

Or is it just another case of Obama kissing up to dictators and chronic liars in hopes they will keep their word "this time" and be "nice" to us in return - a hope that has met with disaster every time it's tried?

Hes the POTUS. We voted him in and trust he will make the right decision. If you have an issue do your best to get him out before his term is up.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Cuba hasn't been involved with terrorists other than the USA putting terrorists in jail on their soil.

The 1960's are over, and the world has seriously evolved since then. The old policies against Cuba should be changed.

Besides, did you realize that before Castro, Cuba used to be one of the hot tourist destinations for Americans?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

What American directed terrorism is Cuba responsible for?

 

[ABikerSailor]

I didn't say that Cuba carried out American directed terrorism, I said the only thing that Cuba has even been connected to concerning terrorists is the fact that we put a whole bunch of them in jail on their land.

 

[JFK_USA]

The Cold War is over Republicans, time to move on.

 

[Little-Acorn]

From Wikipedia:

According to the United States of America, Cuba has a history of supporting revolutionary movements in Spanish speaking countries and Africa. "Havana openly advocates armed revolution as the only means for leftist forces to gain power in Latin America, and the Cubans have played an important role in facilitating the movement of men and weapons into the region. Havana provides direct support in the form of training, arms, safe havens, and advice to a wide variety of guerrilla groups. Many of these groups engage in terrorist operations." Cuba "encouraged terrorism in the hope of provoking indiscriminate violence and repression, in order to weaken government legitimacy and attract new converts to armed struggle" In 1992, after the Soviet collapse, Fidel Castro stressed that his country’s support for insurgents abroad was a thing of the past.[3]

According to Country Reports on Terrorism 2010: August 18, 2011:[4]

“Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1982, the Government of Cuba maintained a public stance against terrorism and terrorist financing in 2010, but there was no evidence that it had severed ties with elements from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and recent media reports indicate some current and former members of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) continue to reside in Cuba. Available information suggested that the Cuban government maintained limited contact with FARC members, but there was no evidence of direct financial or ongoing material support. In March, the Cuban government allowed Spanish Police to travel to Cuba to confirm the presence of suspected ETA members. Cuba has been used as a transit point by third-country nationals looking to enter illegally into the United States. The Government of Cuba is aware of the border integrity and transnational security concerns posed by such transit and investigated third country migrant smuggling and related criminal activities. In November, the government allowed representatives of the Transportation Security Administration to conduct a series of airport security visits throughout the island. Regional and International Cooperation: Cuba did not sponsor counterterrorism initiatives or participate in regional or global operations against terrorists in 2010.”

As a result of the December 17, 2014 agreement to restore relations with Cuba, the President has instructed the Secretary of State to immediately launch a review of Cuba's inclusion on the list, and provide a report to the President within six months regarding Cuba’s alleged support for international terrorism.[5] Obama announced on April 14, 2015, that Cuba was being removed from the list.[6]Cuba would not come off the list until after a 45-day review period, during which a joint resolution to block its removal could be considered in the House and Senate.[7]

 

[Londoner]

Here is why it's hard to take the OP seriously.

Against staunch democrat opposition, Reagan removed Saddam Hussein's Iraq from the same list of "official" Terrorist Nations. He did this to create an ally in the region, which made sense after our guy in neighboring Iran (the Shaw) was ousted by Islamic radicals.

But the point remains. Reagan poured money and weapons into Hussein's ascendancy. He also poured money and weapons into the Afghan mujahideen (to destabilize the Soviets).

In both cases Reagan strengthened terrorist monsters who would later come back to haunt us. Yet the Rightwing voter didn't say a peep. Worse: the OP doesn't even know about these things.

If the OP is going to question our relationship with Cuba, why doesn't he question our longstanding relationship with Saudi Arabia, home to the majority of 9/11 terrorists and one of the most brutal, anti-democratic, anti-free-market regimes in history. What about famed Rightwing hero Pinochet, the Chilean dictator with a long record of torture. Again, the OP doesn't know any of the monsters his side has aggressively supported, so how do we take him seriously?

At some point the OP needs to come to the table with detailed policy analysis - he needs to do some research and set things up with historical context. He seems only to repeat simplistic talking points created hastily by Rightwing sources. At some point he may have to take a broader, more complicated view of this stuff, or it's going to be hard to take him seriously.

 

[Londoner]

To answer the OP's question. I suspect this move will be like Nixon opening communist China. People will bitch and moan until Cuba starts handing out big contracts to Republican friendly corporations (which will most certainly happen as we pull Cuba into the global market system, where it will be much easier to incentivize and discipline them with debt finance and capital investment).

Then, once Cuba is on board (like Vietnam) the moronic Rightwing hysteria will fade, forcing talk radio to invent another fake demon so that the same morons can post the same garbage about some other topic they don't understand.

 

[Pheonixops]

Good, it's about time and it's another step in the right direction. Why have "cold" relations with a country 90 miles off of our Shores? I can see Cuba becoming like another Puerto Rico with in this next decade if forward thinking people in both countries take over.
Fidel and Raul are in their very twilight years, in my opinion both of them know it and I think that they pretty much know that it's "time".

 

[Stephanie]

Wonderful, maybe Cuba will clean out there prisons again and ship them over here. Obama will take them in with open arms

Label them refugees like they are all the other people they're flying in from other countries to be REUNITED with their families...youbetca

 

[TheOldSchool]

Here is why it's hard to take the OP seriously.

Against staunch democrat opposition, Reagan removed Saddam Hussein's Iraq from the same list of "official" Terrorist Nations. He did this to create an ally in the region, which made sense after our guy in neighboring Iran (the Shaw) was ousted by Islamic radicals.

But the point remains. Reagan poured money and weapons into Hussein's ascendancy. He also poured money and weapons into the Afghan mujahideen (to destabilize the Soviets).

In both cases Reagan strengthened terrorist monsters who would later come back to haunt us. Yet the Rightwing voter didn't say a peep. Worse: the OP doesn't even know about these things.

If the OP is going to question our relationship with Cuba, why doesn't he question our longstanding relationship with Saudi Arabia, home to the majority of 9/11 terrorists and one of the most brutal, anti-democratic, anti-free-market regimes in history. What about famed Rightwing hero Pinochet, the Chilean dictator with a long record of torture. Again, the OP doesn't know any of the monsters his side has aggressively supported, so how do we take him seriously?

At some point the OP needs to come to the table with detailed policy analysis - he needs to do some research and set things up with historical context. He seems only to repeat simplistic talking points created hastily by Rightwing sources. At some point he may have to take a broader, more complicated view of this stuff, or it's going to be hard to take him seriously.

 

[Stephanie]

The Cold War is over Republicans, time to move on.

What does this have to do with Republicans and who was office when they sanctioned them?

and why didn't BILL Clinton do anything this is so important

Nothing is the FAULT of Democrats