[Leica] Cuba?

[leica at web-options.com (Bob W)]

That's as may be, but it doesn't actually answer the question, which was
"why do you think a large contingent of Cubans fighting in the Spanish Civil
War 'makes sense' of the 'American reaction(s) to Cuba'?". I'm interested to
learn, because to me it doesn't make sense.

Bob

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+leica=web-options.com@leica-users.org 
> [mailto:lug-bounces+leica=web-options.com@leica-users.org] On 
> Behalf Of Slobodan Dimitrov
> Sent: 04 January 2009 15:49
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Cuba?
> 
> The reaction to Cuba predates any Marxist carbuncle. While currently  
> seeming irrational to Europeans, the attitude is firmly 
> grounded in a  
> long standing interventionist position, or point of view.
> Self determination, within a people who are perceived as a subject  
> people, is usually seen as a disease which needs to be cauterized.  
> The Caribbean has been a hot bed of self determination from the very  
> beginning. With Haiti and Cuba leading the charge.
> When I was in the service, I remember Gen. Westmoreland being taken  
> out of Viet Nam and given the Southern Command. I thought 
> that at the  
> time it was a demotion. But in spit of the Asian hot conflict, the  
> Southern Command position was considered more important, 
> hence a reward.
> Some time ago, I had the chance to hear a particular speech by Rev.  
> James Lawson. It was at an MLK event. He said a sentence which I'll  
> never forget, that the job of the US military in Latin America is to  
> make sure no 14 year old ever grows up to become a Martin Luther  
> King. That speech was made in the late 2000's.
> sd
> 
> 
> On Jan 4, 2009, at 3:00 AM, Bob W wrote:
> 
> >> Some time ago, I became acquainted with a veteran from the Spanish
> >> Civil War. He was lucky enough to have been repatriated to
> >> the United
> >> States. That was before, and just barely, Petain had those interned
> >> on the French side of the border sent to the Mauthausen-Gusen camp.
> >> So while we were talking, I asked a question for which I 
> could never
> >> get a straight answer. That was whether the Mexican
> >> contingent in the
> >> Republican forces were the largest group of foreign volunteers, as
> >> most historical presentation would have it. Without hesitation, he
> >> said the Cubans were. I stood there, somewhat transfixed for a
> >> moment, and said to him, now it makes sense. That is, the American
> >> reaction(s) to Cuba.
> >> sd
> >
> > I don't understand how this makes sense of the US attitude towards  
> > Cuba, and
> > I'd be grateful if you could explain.
> >
> > I don't know a great deal about this, but I sutudied a bit 
> of Spanish
> > history when I was learning Spanish at college, and some of 
> my school
> > teachers were veterans of the civil war. Here is how I figure it -  
> > please
> > correct me if I've got things wrong:
> >
> > The Spanish Civil War (73 years ago) was a long time before 
> the Cuban
> > revolution (50 years and 3 days ago), and before the revolution  
> > Cuba was a
> > banana republic client of the USA. Since the USA was 
> neutral about the
> > Spanish Civil War it's likely that the Cuban government's position  
> > would
> > also have been officially neutral, and Cubans who went to Spain  
> > would have
> > been volunteers, even if unofficially helped by the government.  
> > Given the
> > historical relationship between Spain and Cuba it would be entirely
> > understandable for many Cubans to wish to be involved in the civil  
> > war on
> > one side or the other, but they would, officially at least, 
> have been
> > volunteers who went under their own steam.
> >
> > The current attitude of the US towards Cuba arises from the 
> time of  
> > the
> > Cuban revolution and the relationship between Cuba and the 
> then Soviet
> > Union. The Cuban revolution did so a great deal of damage to US  
> > interests
> > over there; Cuba, with Soviet backing, tried to export the  
> > revolution to
> > other parts of Central and South America, and Cuba became a 
> potential
> > bridgehead for the Soviets into the US, so the USA took a 
> hard line  
> > about
> > relationships with Cuba.
> >
> > Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the hard line is 
> continued not
> > because of any real threat to the US from Cuba, but because of  
> > continued
> > vested political interests.
> >
> > I'd be interested to find out why you think the Spanish 
> Civil War has
> > anything to do with the US attitude to Cuba.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
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> 
> 
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