Radio Havana Cuba-18 September 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 18 September 2001 . *CUBAN EXPERTS EXAMINE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION AFTER SEPT 11 ATTACKS *PRIME MINISTER OF ST. VINCENT/GRENADINES MEETS WITH CUBAN OFFICIALS *SINCE 1997, CUBA HAS PREVENTED HIV/AIDS TRANSMISSION TO NEWSBORNS *EGYPT, OTHER US ALLIES CAUTIOUS ON US TERROR WAR *CRISIS PROVOKES EXAMINATION OF US ROLE IN CREATING TALIBAN REGIME *IN US, A RISING CHORUS QUESTIONS GOVERNMENT AND THE MEDIA *Viewpoint: ONE WEEK LATER . *CUBAN EXPERTS EXAMINE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION AFTER SEPT 11 ATTACKS Havana, September 18 (RHC)--Cuban journalists and experts in international affairs analyzed the present situation in the wake of last week's tragic events in the United States. During Monday evening's roundtable discussion, broadcast live on Cuban radio and television, special attention was devoted to Washington's preparations for military strikes against those they believe are responsible for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. TV and radio commentator Eduardo Dimas warned that the United States was on a war footing, psychologically preparing public opinion for a military response to the events of last week. He said that statements by U.S. authorities over the past several days -- including President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell -- have all pointed in the direction of a major military action. Panelists on the roundtable discussion agreed that any escalation of the violence would only generate more bloodshed. Randy Alonso, the moderator of the program, noted that many countries around the world are reportedly being pressured by Washington to sign-on to the impending military strikes -- but are cautioning the U.S. not to take imprudent actions. The roundtable discussion aired by Cuban radio and television Monday evening stressed that the drums of war being heard in Washington could lead the world to a conflict of incalculable consequences. In related news, Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcón said that the present international situation requires "wisdom and moderation" in order to avoid further tragic and even perhaps more disastrous events. Condemning last week's terrorist actions in New York and Washington as "unjustifiable and totally reprehensible," the head of Cuba's Parliament recalled that President Fidel Castro has strongly come out against the tragic events. Ricardo Alarcón said that while he feels that justice must be done, the problem now is how to apply it. The Cuban legislative leader said that the United Nations should play a role, avoiding at all costs a unilateral response. And he added that "actions should be carefully thought out and must be based on international law and principles." Alarcón spoke with reporters in Paris, following a meeting with his French counterpart, Raymond Forni. *PRIME MINISTER OF ST. VINCENT/GRENADINES MEETS WITH CUBAN OFFICIALS Havana, September 18 (RHC)--The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, continues his official four-day visit to the island. Following the formal welcoming ceremony and talks with Cuban President Fidel Castro, Ralph Gonsalves met with Marta Lomas, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation. The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines led his country's delegation to the Second Bilateral Mixed Commission. During the opening session of the meeting, work groups were created to deal with bilateral relations in the areas of trade and investments, health, education, sports, agriculture and industry. Addressing participants at the inaugural session of the Mixed Commission, Cuba's minister of foreign investment pointed out that between April and June this year, the number of Cuban internationalists carrying out missions throughout the world reached 6682 in 95 countries. Marta Lomas added that more than 8000 young people are studying in Cuban schools -- including 5018 at the Latin American School of Medicine and 578 at the International School of Sports and Physical Education. She said there were a total of 22 medical students from St. Vincent and the Grenadines studying free-of-charge on the island. The Deputy Prime Minister and head of Foreign and Commercial Relations of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Louis Straker, stated that no one in this hemisphere has anything to fear from Cuba. He emphasized that Cuba only offers friendly assistance to its neighbors, which has gained international respect for the island. *SINCE 1997, CUBA HAS PREVENTED HIV/AIDS TRANSMISSION TO NEWSBORNS Havana, September 18 (RHC)--Cuba has registered only nine cases of vertical transmission (from mother to child) of the HIV virus since 1986. According to a study issued by the Cuban Health Ministry, over the past 15 years, 84 children were born to mothers with HIV/AIDS. The report says that of the nine newborns with HIV, three have died. The other children are three, four, eight and nine years of age, and two children have lived the age of 15. Although treatment is very expensive, Cuba provides all medical care free of charge. AZT has been administered to all pregnant women with HIV/AIDS since 1997 and since that time, no cases have been reported of direct transmission from mother to child. The Cuban Health Ministry also notes that a program of early detection has been implemented throughout the island, aiding in the treatment of the deadly virus. *EGYPT, OTHER US ALLIES CAUTIOUS ON US TERROR WAR El Cairo, Paris, Bonn, London, September 18 (RHC)--Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has affirmed that it's too early to talk of an alliance against terrorism and that the United States should think twice before taking military action that would kill civilians. Mubarak, whose country is a key US ally in the Middle East, said Washington has to be very careful about attacking a country because of one individual and killing innocent people as a result. In an interview broadcast Monday on CNN's Larry King Live program, the Egyptian President stressed that "we have to work hard not to be in a hurry, not to jump to conclusions unless you have hard evidence about who did it." US officials have cited the Gulf War coalition as a model for what they are trying to achieve now, but Mubarak said Egypt would prefer to see a United Nations conference agree on an anti-terrorism convention similar to conventions imposing international inspections of nuclear facilities. Other US allies have continued to pledge support for its war on terror, but many are reportedly cool on military strikes against Afghanistan. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has stated that evidence needs to be assembled in order to pursue those responsible for last week's terrorist attacks, while French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine has warned that a "clash of civilizations" must be avoided. Vedrine said he hoped American leaders can come up with a strong and justified response to what has happened without falling into the diabolical trap conceived by the instigators of the assault. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer have warned that a reaction should not create more instability than was previously the case. Experts and analysts, meanwhile, are questioning Washington's military options. Michael O'Hanlon, analyst with the Brookings Institution, said that a land invasion against Afghanistan's Taliban regime could work, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. He added, however, that it could also fail due to the difficult terrain in Afghanistan and its combatants' long tradition of resistance. Andrew Krepinevich, military expert and director of the Center for Strategic and Budget Matters, said small scale commando operations to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden would require time, excellent intelligence, remote bases and the cooperation of countries like Pakistan and Iran. *CRISIS PROVOKES EXAMINATION OF US ROLE IN CREATING TALIBAN REGIME Paris, Washington, September 18 (RHC)--The terrorist attacks against the United States are sparking increasing commentary on the US role in establishing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Writing from Paris, Gilles Bertin, AFP's correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan between 1987 and 1989, said Washington gave strong support to the fundamentalist Mujahedeen in Afghanistan in order to beat back the Soviets and obtain vengeance for its defeat in Vietnam. Bertin said Osama Bin Laden was a pillar of that fundamentalist movement, adding that the US CIA and Pakistani intelligence services provided the most radical factions with 80 percent of their weapons, supplies and money. According to Bertin, at the time European experts and analysts accused the United States and Pakistan of building a time bomb by isolating the more moderate and pro-western fundamentalists. The former correspondent said more moderate Muslim sectors in Afghanistan often had to protect western journalists as the radical fundamentalists supported by the CIA did not hide their hostility towards the west. Other press reports are asserting that Washington is worried about the land-to-air stinger missiles provided to anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan that can now be used against US military forces. It's estimated that following the arrival of the Soviets in Afghanistan in 1979, the CIA invested more than $2 billion over a period of 10 years to support the resistance of 200,000 fundamentalist Mujahedeen from 20 Islamic countries. By the mid-1990s, the Taliban and Pakistani intelligence services had found a new source of funds: the planting, processing and trafficking of heroin. In July of this year, a Pakistani brigadier general was sentenced to 8 years in prison for possessing a $40 million bank account and vast properties of inexplicable origin. *IN US, A RISING CHORUS QUESTIONS GOVERNMENT AND THE MEDIA Pomona, California, September 18, (RHC)--More voices in the United States are increasingly questioning government and media reactions to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Saul Landau, author and director of the Digital Media and International Outreach Programs at the California State Polytechnic University's College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, has written that Americans have ingested a TV, radio and print diet of bombast, hyperbole and sheer nonsense. Posted on the Internet, Landau's article "The Questions Not Asked as The Empire Strikes Back" asserted that while messages from elected leaders, so-called experts and actors posing as TV anchors stress retaliation, few in power or the limelight have asked about the enemy's objectives. Asking what exactly is the cause of those who carried out the terrorist attacks, he said this is a question those in power should be debating before rushing madly around the world with troops, missiles and extreme belligerence. Landau said Congress didn't even discuss the crisis, but simply voted massive amounts of money for a confused president to use as he wishes, while destroying the fiscal soundness of social security and Medicare. He said it's time for study, thought and debate. *Viewpoint: ONE WEEK LATER As thousands of Afghan civilians pour out of their cities in fear of what is to come, the administration of George W Bush ponders its options in retaliation for last Tuesday's horrors. The immediate questions are: Why would those who caused the mayhem in New York and Washington be concerned by threats against their lives when they have clearly indicated by their actions that their lives are expendable? Does the US president not realize he is playing into the hands of such people by placing his nation on a war footing and thereby disrupting the entire world? And who are the victims of any US engagement likely to be? The people of Afghanistan who live under what is probably the most repressive and brutal regime on earth, and who have nothing to do with harboring the likes of Osama bin Laden. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Washington has determined that "American spy agencies should be allowed to combat terrorism with more aggressive tactics, including the hiring of unsavory foreign agents." When, one asks, did the CIA stop hiring unsavory agents? Let us not forget that one of these "unsavory agents" was Bin Laden himself, successfully trained to bring the Taliban into power, just as past US administrations brought in and supported the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia -- at the cost of three million Cambodian lives. The Washington Post reported in May that the Bush administration "pledged $43 million in assistance to Afghanistan, raising total aid this year to $124 million" -- clear support for the Taliban's ruthless but politically useful regime. The CIA was supposed to be aware of the movements and operation of Bin Laden, according to a directive signed by former US President Bill Clinton, yet the agency's disastrous failure in New York and Washington is being rewarded with the allotment of more fabulous sums of money to carry on doing the same, taking away from essential domestic programs like Medicare and social security. In spite of headlines from US newspapers churning out things like the Washington Times' "Time to Use the Nuclear Option" or the Philadelphia Inquirer's "Give War a Chance," which pound away at the US public, it is hard to believe that Bush will have popular support for any type of attack against Afghanistan. One of the more emotional moments in the aftermath of the World Trade Center destruction was the sight of lines of New Yorkers giving blood to assist the injured. Although there has been much flag-waving and cries for vengeance, the larger part of the population of the United States are able to see clearly through their grief, and there have been many calls for restraint and reflection from inside the US, not just from abroad. As Washington says, the struggle against terrorism should involve a concerted effort on the part of the world's nations. Events such as those of seven days ago have affected us all. However, the answer is not to invoke NATO's defense clause in which one country attacked must be militarily defended by all the others, as Bush is seeking to do. The answer is to use the $40 billion just voted by Congress to carry war into the Third World, and instead carry out a massive attack against poverty, injustice, racism and marginalization with the cooperation and involvement of every nation on earth. (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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