Text 11845, 57 rader
Skriven 2009-06-05 15:50:00 av Dave Drum (1:124/311)
Ärende: Deja Vu all over again
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Does Daniel Schorr read this echo???

Give Guantanamo Back To Cuba
by Daniel Schorr

All Things Considered, June 3, 2009 · Guantanamo is the name of a Caribbean
inlet in Southeastern Cuba that provides one of the biggest and best-sheltered
bays in the world — perfect for a naval base.

Guantanamo today is also the name of a major presidential headache. The prison
there houses some 240 "detainees," as they are called, and President Obama has
promised to shut it down but has so far not found many countries willing to
accept the detainees, least of all this country, whose leaders say, almost in
chorus, "not in my backyard."

How did the U.S. come to have this piece of Cuba in the first place?

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a deal with a liberated Cuba to
lease the 45-square-mile area. The price: 2,000 gold coins a year. The lease
was later renegotiated to stipulate that it could only be canceled by U.S.
abandonment or by mutual agreement. And the U.S. still sends checks for some
$4,000 a year.

When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, he indicated he would not abrogate the
agreement, but he quickly changed his mind. In 1961, President Eisenhower broke
off diplomatic relations — and by 1964, Castro was trying to cut off the water
supply to Guantanamo. The U.S. started bringing water in by ship.

Periodically, the Havana government demanded the return of the land, and it
stopped cashing the rental checks.

But, separated from the rest of Cuba by a well-patrolled fence, the Guantanamo
base grew, most recently expanded to provide a prison complex for terrorism
suspects.

The Obama administration has been reviewing its relations — or nonrelations —
with Cuba. So here's a modest proposal: How about President Obama announcing
that he is ready to end America's century-old presence in the Cuban Bay?

The evacuation would be immediate, leaving the installation as it is. That
would leave Castro to figure out what to do about the detainees. The Castro
regime is pretty experienced in handling prison populations.

Just a thought.

http://tinyurl.com/gitmo-back

ENJOY!!!

From Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
Home of YAHOOOOAHHHH Hot Sauce & Hardin Cider 

 

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