Since
1979, the United States has maintained a list of states that
are believed to sponsor terrorism. Until September 11th the
list had little relevance, but it served as a foreign policy
tool by imposing economic sanctions on listed countries.
'Cuba against Terrorism & War' |
However,
the US"terrorism list" has no set of criteria
for inclusion or removal from the list. The seven countries
currently on the list (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan,
Syria and Libya) have vastly varying raps. For years, the State
Department has downgraded Cuba without ever removing it from
the list. Taliban-controlled Afghanistan received several million
dollars in counter-narcotics aid from the US, even while it
was host to Osama bin Ladin and his terrorist training camp.
Afghanistan was never added to the terrorist list.
On
May 21, 2002, the State Department published a new list of "terrorist
states" with a revamped argument against Cuba. It acknowledges
that Cuba has signed all 12 UN counter-terrorism conventions,
but complains that Castro criticized "the US-led war on
terrorism" and has "vacillated" with respect
to the global effort against terrorism. The report also claims
that Cuba supports Colombian, Spanish and Chilean rebels, but
neglects evidence to the contrary.
Another
U.S. complaint is that Cuba continues to harbor U.S. fugitives,
but the report does not account for fugitives from Cuban justice
living in the U.S. and an inoperative U.S.-Cuban extradition
treaty. Though it strains and exaggerates, the report actually
offers no evidence that Cuba is involved in terrorist activities.
