Nbadan
08-03-2006, 05:08 AM
U.S. Prepares for Showdown in Cuba
U.S. Prepares for Possible Showdown in Cuba, Congress Seeks to Encourage Cuban Dissidents
By LAURIE KELLMAN
WASHINGTON Aug 2, 2006 (AP)— The White House and Congress, caught unaware by Fidel Castro's illness, prepared Wednesday for a possible showdown in Cuba as lawmakers drafted legislation that would give millions of dollars to dissidents who fight for democratic change.
"The message will be, `The United States stands with you,'" Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., one of the bill's authors, said in an interview. "Be ready to assert your independence."
There was no sign of upheaval in Cuba on Wednesday, two days after Castro stunned U.S. officials and many of his own countrymen with the news that he had temporarily ceded power to his brother, Raul, in order to undergo surgery.
(snip)
For now, Bush administration officials and members of Congress were focused on offering dissidents cash for fighting for democratic change.
(snip)
Legislation sponsored by Nelson, fellow Floridian Mel Martinez, Majority Leader Bill Frist and others would authorize as much as $80 million over two years and pay half of that almost immediately to dissidents and nongovernmental organizations on the island.
ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2266711&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312)
The CIA should sponsor an invasion using Cuban exiles.
U.S. Prepares for Possible Showdown in Cuba, Congress Seeks to Encourage Cuban Dissidents
By LAURIE KELLMAN
WASHINGTON Aug 2, 2006 (AP)— The White House and Congress, caught unaware by Fidel Castro's illness, prepared Wednesday for a possible showdown in Cuba as lawmakers drafted legislation that would give millions of dollars to dissidents who fight for democratic change.
"The message will be, `The United States stands with you,'" Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., one of the bill's authors, said in an interview. "Be ready to assert your independence."
There was no sign of upheaval in Cuba on Wednesday, two days after Castro stunned U.S. officials and many of his own countrymen with the news that he had temporarily ceded power to his brother, Raul, in order to undergo surgery.
(snip)
For now, Bush administration officials and members of Congress were focused on offering dissidents cash for fighting for democratic change.
(snip)
Legislation sponsored by Nelson, fellow Floridian Mel Martinez, Majority Leader Bill Frist and others would authorize as much as $80 million over two years and pay half of that almost immediately to dissidents and nongovernmental organizations on the island.
ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2266711&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312)
The CIA should sponsor an invasion using Cuban exiles.