Rice: Invasion of Cuba Is 'Far-Fetched'
Sunday August 6, 2006 6:31 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States wants to help Cubans prepare for
democracy but is not contemplating an invasion of the island in the wake
of Fidel Castro's illness, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.
``The notion that somehow the United States is going to invade Cuba,
because there are troubles in Cuba, is simply far-fetched,'' Rice told
NBC. ``The United States wants to be a partner and a friend to the Cuban
people as they move through this period of difficulty and as they move
ahead. But what Cuba should not have is the replacement of one dictator
by another.''
Still, Cuban authorities have beefed up security by mobilizing citizen
defense militias, increasing street patrols, and ordering decommissioned
military officers to check in at posts daily.
Cuba's vice president said Castro is recuperating well after surgery for
intestinal bleeding. The ailing leader turns 80 on Aug. 13. On Monday it
was announced that Castro had temporarily handed over power to his
brother Raul, 75.
Rice said, ``My message to the Cuban people would be that they have an
opportunity, as this unfolds, at home to build a stable and more
democratic Cuba.''
When asked whether the United States expects large numbers of Cubans to
flee the island for America, Rice said that U.S. officials have worked
``to tell the Cuban people that their future is at home, and no, a mass
exodus is not to be expected, nor would it be condoned.''
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5997423,00.html
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