Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Cuba Says U.S. Lied on Terror

<<<The accusation, which Mr. Fisk aired in separate
conferences Tuesday on Cuba policy, marks the second time
this year that a State Department official has portrayed
Cuba as a national security threat to the United States
without releasing any evidence. Last spring, Under
Secretary of State John R. Bolton accused Cuba of
developing biological weapons, which President Castro
vigorously denied.>>>>

Should the US succeed in overthrowing Iraq at relatively low cost, expect Cuba 
to be next.

Steven Sherman

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This article from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by swsystem@aol.com.



Cuba Says U.S. Lied on Terror

September 19, 2002
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS 




 

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 - Cuba's foreign minister today
angrily rebutted State Department charges that his
government was providing the United States with false leads
on terrorism, and he accused one American official of
"lying with impudence." 

The minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, said that the government
of President Fidel Castro had repeatedly sought to
cooperate with the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks
but that the Bush administration had rejected its
overtures. 

"I want to be emphatic: Cuba repeatedly proposed to the
U.S. government that a bilateral agreement be signed to
engage in cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and
the U.S. government refused," Mr. Pérez Roque told
reporters at the Cuban mission to the United Nations. 

As evidence of that cooperation, Mr. Pérez Roque released a
copy of a March 12 diplomatic note, sent by the Castro
government to American officials in Havana, that spoke of
Cuba's desire for new agreements "on cooperation regarding
illegal migration, drug traffic and terrorism." The note
was spurned, he said. 

The minister's remarks came a day after the deputy
assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere
affairs, Daniel W. Fisk, accused Cuba of sending American
law enforcement agents on "wild goose chases" by providing
erroneous tips about terrorist threats. 

Mr. Fisk said the false leads had come as frequently as
once a month, in locations on three continents, and were
squandering American resources as officials felt duty-bound
to investigate them. 

"This is obstructionism," Mr. Fisk said, "and I am
concerned that it could one day cost innocent people their
lives." 

The accusation, which Mr. Fisk aired in separate
conferences Tuesday on Cuba policy, marks the second time
this year that a State Department official has portrayed
Cuba as a national security threat to the United States
without releasing any evidence. Last spring, Under
Secretary of State John R. Bolton accused Cuba of
developing biological weapons, which President Castro
vigorously denied.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/19/international/americas/19CUBA.html?ex=1033522878&ei=1&en=10db4eeb2c5fc503



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