An article that appeared in the August 1, 2006 Capital Times Newspaper

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U.S. moves toward Cuba worry locals

Castro's illness sparks concerns for nation

By Anita Weier

Sister city activists and other Madisonians with ties to Cuba said today they fear the Bush administration will use the transition in power from Fidel to Raul Castro as the occasion to activate a plan to replace that nation's communist system.

They said such a move could lead to war. The Associated Press reported today that Bush told a Miami radio station on Monday, prior to the announcement of Castro's illness, "If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there's a better way than the system in which they've been living under." Ricardo Gonzalez, a former Madison alderman who was born and raised in Cuba and founded the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association, said today he was taken by surprise by Castro's illness and that he also is troubled by the reports prepared by the U.S. Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, which is headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, and his brother, Minister of Defense Raul Castro.

"(This) is nothing more than a plan by the United States for the annexation of Cuba. A section of the plan is being kept secret about what the U.S. might do in event of the death or incapacity of Fidel Castro," Gonzales maintained. "We will see if this administration chooses this moment to put into action this secret plan for transition. "This is a wrong policy that will not work. I don't know what the U.S. can do other than military intervention, which at this point would be unthinkable, considering that we have our hands full in the Middle East. We ought to pursue a policy of engagement with the Cuban government that will lead to an improvement of relations and peace." Robert Kimbrough, a retired UW-Madison English professor and prominent local Socialist who has gone to Cuba 16 times with Madison delegations, is also worried by the two reports. "It is disgusting. The 2004 report said, 'We pledge to help the Cuban people, and a new transition Cuban government, as you move away from the totalitarian Communist dictatorship and toward a free and representative democracy.' "On July 10, the final report to the president is specific that when Fidel goes they will put this into motion," Kimbrough said. "The president of the National Assembly in Cuba has labeled this as no less than a declaration of war. "My question is how our wonderful, sophisticated government will respond. They have asked for $80 million to get the transition to democracy started, beginning with $20 million right away. They recommended this to the president and he accepted the report." Self-government: Dr. Bernard Micke, a UW Health physician who heads the Wisconsin Medical Project that takes medical supplies to a hospital in Cuba, said today that, personally, he has concerns about possible U.S. action. "The Cubans are capable of governing themselves whether Castro is there or not. It is not a dictatorship to the degree that our government would like to paint it. This is a very functional government at the local and national levels," Micke said, stressing that he was speaking as an individual, not for the completely non-political humanitarian Medical Project. "The United States should not be meddling. We would certainly not want some other country to have a plan in place as to how to run our country if something happened here. That is a very imperialistic approach, that we have some God-given right to have a hand in Cuba's affairs." On course: Robert Skloot, a UW-Madison professor of theater, drama and Jewish studies who has visited Cuba five times and taken students there once, said it is premature to say what might happen in Cuba. "Things will be worked out in the next few weeks. The succession has been decided many years ago and so it is taking its course as to what should happen if Castro is incapacitated," Skloot said. Regarding any possible U.S. involvement, he said, "It would be disastrous and lead to more complications than the United States is either able to deal with or would want to do in the world community."

E-mail: aweier@madison.com

Published: August 1, 2006