On 11/27/2016 04:51 PM, Kurt Buff wrote: > The thought that SA was unable or incompetent to stand up to the > Mozambiquan/Cuban forces is untrue. > > The SA troops basically kicked the crap out of the Cuban forces > whenever/wherever they met, but SA was pressured by the USA to back > down, with the promise that the USA would fill in. Didn't happen, of > course... > > Regardless, it would have been harder for SA if there had been much > larger Cuban forces deployed - the engagements with Cuban forces were > fought mostly with conscripts, with SA saving their regular troops for > a possible larger conflict, which didn't eventuate. > > If it had brewed up, the quality of the SA forces (i.e., individual > and small unit professionalism and discipline) would have been just > fine, but logistics and supply, and warfighting doctrine and tactics > would have presented real difficulties. SA at that time didn't train > their forces at large scale, with the battalion being the permanent > force size (vs. say the USA, where the division is the permanent unit > size). > > This article (which makes the above mistake, is otherwise useful), > gives a decent overview of Fidel Castro's life and tenure: > http://libertyunbound.com/node/1631 > > Kurt
A friend of mine emigrated to Cuba (White communist Irish citizen) specifically to fight for UNITA as a machine gunner. He's in his 70s now and claims it's the most import thing he ever did in his life. I haven't thoroughly researched this article but the interweaving of history regarding Cuba and it's internationalism is a refreshing thing to see. Rr > On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 11:13 AM, Razer <ray...@riseup.net> wrote: >> From Facebook. A pretty definitive history of the Cuban Revolution: >> >> [Note: Sam "Momo" Giancana is mentioned in this article. Mike Ruppert >> brought up one of his CUBAN MAFIA operations in "Crossing the Rubicon" as >> Heroin smuggling to the docks in New Orleans. As Ruppert put it. Hardhat >> divers would work the 'legs' of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico off the >> coast of Lousyanna removing containers of Heroin the CIA's hardhat divers >> put there and bring it into port on the workboats. My dad, a regional >> coordinator for the ADL in the SE US and US Army intel since WWII lit up >> when I mentioned Giancana's name in passing ,,, Everyone in spookworld knew >> this was happening. The Cubans who fled here when Castro took power were te >> oligarchs, Mafioso affiliated with the CIA, and later, all the thugs Castro >> released from prison and told to go to the US. Many are sitting in prisons >> in the Southeast US for the rest of their lives for crimes committed in the >> US and no place to exile them to... Tsk... tsk.] >> >> "Truth is a bitter pill to swallow: Lessons on the death of Fidel Castro and >> his revolutionary freedom-fighter legacy in the world. >> >> (Please bear with me. I have tried to condense all the researched material, >> but this is still a lengthy post..well worth the read though) >> >> History can be a very useful tool. The need to always research the truth, >> and understand its relevance is the key to defeating fascism wherever its >> ugly head pops up. The true revolution is the evolution of consciousness. If >> you rely on the mainstream media or utterances of "elected" U.S. government >> officials, you will never truly 'see', or understand, what is happening all >> around you, nor will you ever break free of the chains of mental, as well as >> economic and physical slavery. >> >> Cuba was one of the last colonial possessions under Spanish rule just 90 >> miles south of Florida. As Spain’s Imperial power was in decline, Washington >> had imperial ambitions to expand its influence on Cuba. Cuba had the >> potential to produce unlimited profits for U.S. business interests. Even >> organized crime got into the picture when they became a major player in Cuba >> in the early 1930’s. The Mafia managed to expand their gaming industry, >> prostitution and drug trade operations to Cuba to avoid harassment from the >> U.S. government [Citation: "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and then >> Lost it to the Revolution", an excellent expose of how the mafia operated in >> Cuba, by T.J. English]. Cuba was to be their base of operations as they were >> looking to expand into other Caribbean nations. During that time, Cuba was >> under the leadership of President Fulgencio Batista, a good friend to >> organized crime, who had close political ties to Washington and its >> multinational corporations. Cuba became a cesspool of corruption, illegal >> drugs and prostitution which became a playground for the rich and famous >> while the majority of ordinary Cubans lived in extreme poverty. This is an >> historical account of Cuba before 1959, a time period that explains why >> Cuba’s Revolution was a long time in the making. >> >> We all know the story of how Cuban leader Fidel Castro established the first >> communist state in the Western Hemisphere, leading an overthrow of the >> corrupt military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959, ruling over Cuba >> for nearly five decades, and irking the great American superpower after >> nationalizing U.S.-owned businesses in Cuba without compensation since 1960. >> What you don't know is what led to it. >> >> The U.S. has been intervening in Latin America since President James Monroe >> established the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy that prevented European >> powers from colonizing any sovereign nation in “their backyard”. Unable to >> convert Spanish-controlled Cuba into a slave plantation to serve the >> interests of the U.S. against the Confederacy in 1860, the U.S. Congress >> eventually passed the ‘Teller Amendment’ in 1898 which did guarantee Cuba’s >> independence but was replaced in 1901 by the ‘Platt Amendment’ which gave >> Washington the power to intervene in Cuba if their interests were >> threatened. By 1908, Cubans who fought against Spain created a new >> independent political party but were oppressed and eventually massacred by >> the U.S. backed Cuban government. >> >> The Partido Independiente de Color (PIC) was composed of former African >> slaves and war veterans of the1896 Cuban War of Independence. The PIC won >> enough votes that undermined the ruling liberal party under President José >> Miguel Gómez. President Gomez ordered the party to disband under Cuban law >> which outlawed any political party based on race although the law favored >> white Cubans. The PIC staged a revolt under General Evaristo Estanoz. >> However, General Jose de Jesus Monteagudo suspended constitutional rights >> and ordered an attack against Afro-Cubans. The U.S. intervened and sent >> troops to back President Gomez and protect its vital business interests. >> More than 5,000 Afro-Cubans were massacred by lynch mobs because of their >> skin color. All Afro-Cubans were under suspicion by the Gomez regime. >> Several successions of Presidents eventually led to Batista whose first term >> was benign. His second term was a different story though. Batista created an >> anti-Communist secret police to silence the public with violence, torture >> and public executions. It is estimated that there were between 10,000 to >> 20,000 people murdered under the Batista regime with financial and military >> support from the Washington. >> >> During Batista’s reign of terror, the "July 26 Movement" organized by Fidel >> Castro and other anti-government groups throughout Cuba were forming a >> rebellion against the Batista government. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. who was >> a writer, historian, speechwriter and a Special Assistant to President John >> F. Kennedy who worked primarily on Latin American issues analyzed Batista’s >> Cuba on the president’s request and said: >> >> "The corruption of the government, the brutality of the police, the regime’s >> indifference to the needs of the people for education, medical care, >> housing, for social justice and economic justice is an open invitation to >> revolution" >> >> >> Batista was concerned about Castro so he ordered his secret police to >> torture and murder people in public to install fear in the population in >> case they were considering joining the growing revolution. Batista’s actions >> only angered the Cuban people and increased support for the July 26 >> Movement. Many organizations joined the movement from all types of >> backgrounds from the middle class including lawyers, doctors, accountants >> and many others united with the poor (who were already fighting against >> government forces). >> >> An attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago led by Fidel Castro was >> defeated by Batista’s armed forces on July 26, 1953, but with the >> handwriting on the wall, on December 11, 1958, U.S. Ambassador Earl Smith >> told Batista that the United States could no longer support his government. >> The U.S. denied Batista asylum and suggested that he go to Spain. On New >> Year’s Eve party, Batista told his government officials that he was leaving >> Cuba and flew to the Dominican Republic with between $300 and $700 million >> according to various estimates. Portugal’s António Salazar, a dictator >> allowed Batista to enter his country. By 1972, Batista settled in Marbella, >> Spain where he eventually died of a heart attack. >> >> Setting aside the two-faced hilarious irony for a minute, whenever you hear >> leaders of the United States describe another world leader as a "ruthless >> brutal dictator", invariably it brings to mind several distinct >> suppositions. The basic one is that this leader must be someone who >> successfully resisted attempts by the U.S. to infiltrate, pillage and >> exploit that country's mineral resources. It is the height of hypocrisy for >> any American politician, given the brutal history of the United States, as >> well as its present ruthless racist practices, to condemn, or see fit to >> criticize, the internal policies of another nation. The secondary one is >> that the 'offending party' must be one who defied the U.S. to an >> exasperating point of submission. Without the efforts of Fidel Castro, South >> African Apartheid, as we knew it, would never have ended. Don't buy into the >> American false narratives that "protests" by liberals in the U.S. was >> instrumental in the fall of Apartheid. If protesting and marching ever >> produced significant results, racism would have been a thing of the past a >> long time ago. Hell, we've been marching for hundreds of years.......still >> marching. >> >> "638 Ways to Kill Castro" is a Channel 4 documentary film, broadcast in the >> United Kingdom on November 28, 2006, which tells the story of some of the >> numerous attempts by the C.I.A. to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Fabian >> Escalante, the former Head of the Intelligence Directorate, and the man who >> had the job of protecting Castro for many of the 49 years he was in power, >> alleges that there were over 600 plots and conspiracies known to Cuban >> agents, all dreamt up to end Castro's life. Some were perpetrated directly >> by the C.I.A., especially during the first half of the 1960s, and others, >> from the seventies onwards, made by Cuban exiles who had been trained by the >> C.I.A. shortly after Castro took power in 1959. >> >> Directed by Dollan Cannell and produced executively by Peter Moore, the >> film, whose subtext is a commentary on the contemporary "War on Terror", >> also contains extensive material shot with Antonio Veciana, the Cuban exile >> who came close to killing Castro on three occasions over 17 years (and now >> runs a 'marine supplies store' in Miami). All these men, the film reveals, >> were supported and funded by the U.S. government. At one point the C.I.A. >> even sought the help of the Mafia in the hope they would be able to succeed >> where so many others had failed. Other characters in the documentary are >> Cuban exile Félix Rodríguez, the C.I.A. operative who trained Cuban exiles >> for the Bay of Pigs invasion, and who was present when the Bolivian Army >> killed Che Guevara in 1967 at the request of the Bolivian President at the >> time, and Enrique Ovares, possibly the first man to make an attempt on >> Castro's life after he took power. Robert Maheu is also interviewed, the >> Hughes associate who served as liaison between the C.I.A. and mobsters >> "Johnny" Roselli and Sam "Momo" Giancana, in another plot to kill Castro, >> this time using poison pills. >> >> In 2006, the documentary was the center of a controversy surrounding U.S. >> Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. In it the Miami Republican, who had been >> recently tapped to become the top Republican on the House International >> Relations Committee, states "I welcome the opportunity of having anyone >> assassinate Fidel Castro and any leader who is oppressing the people." A >> clip of her statement made its way to YouTube where the newsmedia quickly >> picked up the story. There was a subsequent public questioning of >> Ros-Lehtinen's morals and suitability for her job. She responded by >> asserting that the clip was spliced together and that it was taken out of >> context, but after her account was contested by the film's director, she >> eventually released a statement, on Christmas Eve, accepting that she had >> made the remark. >> >> It is mind-boggling that America, a country which brutally murdered upwards >> of 100 million Native-Americans, stole their land, raped their womenfolk and >> children, and all but ethnically-cleansed them from the face of the >> earth....a nation which gleefully engaged in a repressive African Slave >> trade Holocaust which saw the violent deaths of up to 50 million Africans, >> and led to the forced labor, and Jim Crow laws that resulted in the >> emergence of America as a 16th century global power through the tobacco and >> cotton international trade, and continues to marginalize, exploit, murder >> people of African descent, and exploit African mineral resources, till >> today....a Republic that dropped the first, and only nuclear weapons on >> Japan, killing up to a quarter of a million people within days, and almost >> that much in the resulting radiation fallout which lasted years.....a nation >> that dropped 280 million cluster bombs on Laos, a country with which it >> wasn't even at war, a country that has invaded or bombed over 90 countries, >> would have the arrogant temerity and sagging cojones to dissect the policies >> of another sovereign nation. >> >> Until the fall of the Portuguese dictatorship in 1974, apartheid in South >> Africa was secure. There was no substantial resistance anywhere in southern >> Africa. Pretoria’s neighbors comprised of buffer zones that protected the >> racist regime: Namibia, their immediate neighbor which they had occupied for >> 60 years; white-ruled Rhodesia; and the Portuguese-ruled colonies of Angola >> and Mozambique. The rebels who fought against minority rule in each of these >> countries, operating without any safe haven to organize and train, were >> powerless to challenge the status quo. >> >> South Africa’s apartheid buffer, supported by the United States of America >> for economic purposes, would have remained intact for the foreseeable >> future, solidifying apartheid and preventing any significant opposition, but >> for one man: Fidel Castro. >> >> In October of 1975, South Africa invaded Angola at the behest of the U.S. >> government to overthrow the left-wing Popular Movement for the Liberation of >> Angola (MPLA) in the soon-to-be independent country. Without Cuban >> assistance, the apartheid army would have easily cruised into Luanda, >> crushed the MPLA, and installed a puppet government friendly to the >> apartheid regime. Afraid of having a government staunchly opposed to white >> domination so close to home, South Africa rushed to prevent >> self-determination for the Angolans. They were aided by U.S. Secretary of >> State Henry Kissinger, who believed the threat of black liberation in >> Africa, which would lead to local control of their own resources at the >> expense of foreign investors, could still be contained. >> >> Bear in mind that at the same time the C.I.A. were engaged in another brutal >> massacre in South America, intended to eradicate communist or Soviet >> influence and ideas, and suppress active or potential opposition known as >> "Operation Condor", a campaign of political repression and state terror >> involving intelligence operations and assassinations of up to 70,000 >> opponents, which started in 1968, but "officially" implemented in 1975, by >> the right-wing dictatorships of South American countries. To understand how >> an individual, group, entity or State, operates, you have to think in >> parallel terms. It will better illustrate the patterns of action that >> individual/entity/State operates under. In addition, the rest of the world >> was still aghast and in shock over the American annihilation of almost half >> a million Japanese civilians. Operation Condor's key members were the >> governments in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. The >> U.S. government provided technical support and supplied military aid to the >> participants until at least 1978, and again after Republican Ronald Reagan >> became President in 1981. Such support was frequently routed through the >> Central Intelligence Agency. >> South Africa launched an invasion to topple the MPLA and install the >> guerilla Jonas Savimbi, leader of the National Union for the Total >> Independence of Angola (UNITA), the smallest and least popular of the three >> groups, as a puppet dictator in Angola. Savimbi, a collaborator with the >> Portuguese dictatorship before Angolan independence, was known for his >> ruthlessness, terrorism, and hunger for power. An avowed anti-communist who >> had already aligned with South Africa, Savimbi would have made the perfect >> Angolan facade for apartheid control, and undoubtedly, had he prevailed, >> would have been touted by the U.S. as " a hero". >> >> Agostinho Neto, the President of Angola, and distinguished poet who has led >> the MPLA since 1962, appealed to Cuba to send troops to ward off the >> apartheid army’s invasion. On November 4, 1975, Castro agreed. Several days >> later the first Cuban special forces troops boarded planes for Angola, where >> they would launch "Operation Carlota". >> >> Research the Battles of Quifangondo and Ebo to fully understand the impact >> of the Cuban victory, and how its effects resonated far beyond the >> battlefield. More important than the strategic gain, the victory of black >> Cuban and Angolan troops against the whites South African racist army >> shattered the illusion of white invincibility. >> >> A South African military analyst described the meaning of his country’s >> defeat: “The reality is that they have won, are winning, and are not White; >> and that psychological edge, that advantage the White man has enjoyed and >> exploited over 300 years of colonialism and empire, is slipping away. White >> elitism has suffered an irreversible blow in Angola, and Whites who have >> been there know it.” [cited by Piero Gleijeses] >> >> Cuba’s 30,000-man strong military intervention in Angola managed to change >> the course of that country and reverberate throughout Africa. By ensuring >> independence from the white supremacists, Angola was able to preserve its >> own revolution and maintain its role as a base for armed resistance groups >> fighting for liberation in nearby countries. >> >> The Americans were furious. “Kissinger’s response to Castro’s intervention >> was to throw mercenaries and weapons at the problem,” Gleijeses writes. >> [Citation: Gleijeses, Piero. Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and >> Africa, 1959-1976 (Envisioning Cuba). The University of North Carolina >> Press, 2002]. >> >> The U.S. Secretary of State was afraid that after their successful >> intervention in Angola, Cuba would put the rest of the racist regimes in the >> region in jeopardy: >> >> “We can’t say Rhodesia is not a danger because it is a bad case. If the >> Cubans are involved there, Namibia is next and after that South Africa, >> itself … If the Cubans move, I recommend we act vigorously. We can’t permit >> another move without suffering a great loss.” [Citation: “National Security >> Council Meeting, 4/7/1976” of the National Security Adviser’s NSC Meeting >> File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. (pg. 21) >> http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/…/document/0312/1552402.pdf] >> Sore losers that they were, after losing the war, in 1978, the South African >> SADF massacred 600 unarmed Namibians at a refugee camp in Cassinga, but the >> U.S. opposed any sanctions against them in the UN Security Council as the >> apartheid government kept up its relentless fight for survival. Throughout >> the 1980's Angola was subjected to various incursions and invasions by South >> Africa confrontations which climaxed in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in >> late 1987. With the military confrontation raging, talks started between >> Angola, Cuba and South Africa, with the United States moderating, in London >> in early 1988. In instructions to the Cuban delegation, Castro reflected on >> the South Africans and American mindset. >> >> “The fact they have accepted this meeting in London at such a high level >> shows that they are looking for a way out because they have seen our advance >> and are saying, ‘How is it that Cuba has converted itself into the >> liquidator of Apartheid and the liberator of Africa?’ That’s what is >> worrying the Americans, they’re going to say: ‘They’re going to defeat South >> Africa!” Castro said. [Citation: Instructions to the Cuban Delegation for >> the London Meeting, ‘Indicaciones concretas del Comandante en Jefe que >> guiarán la actuación de la delegación cubana a las conversaciones de Luanda >> y las negociaciones de Londres (April 22, 1988)’] >> >> Castro also told his delegation that the goal was not to pursue a war or >> military victory, but to achieve negotiations over SADF withdrawal from >> Angola and implementation of Resolution 435, which would grant independence >> to Namibia. “They should know that we are not playing games, that our >> position is serious and that our objective is peace,” he said. President >> Reagan administration's efforts to seek modification of United Nations >> resolution 435 on Namibia to allow South African a say, received a serious >> rebuff from Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Tanzanian President >> Julius Nyerere, until eager to keep doing business with the mineral >> resource-rich Angola, and surreptitiously keep funding other brigands in >> nearby Congo, the U.S. succumbed. >> >> In the American version of Cold War history, Cuba was carrying out >> aggression and acting as proxies of the Soviet Union. Were it not for one >> persistent and meticulous scholar, we might never have known that these are >> nothing more than dishonest fabrications. In his monumental books >> “Conflicting Missions” and “Visions of Freedom,” historian Piero Gleijeses >> uses thousands of documents from Cuban military archives, as well as U.S. >> and South African archives, to recount a dramatic, historical confrontation >> between tiny Cuba and Washington and its ally apartheid South Africa. >> Gleijeses is the only foreign scholar to have gained access to the closed >> Cuban archives. He obtained thousands of pages of documents, and made them >> available to the Wilson Center Digital Archive, which has posted the >> invaluable collection online. >> >> Gleijeses’s research made possible a look behind the curtain at one of the >> most remarkable acts of "internationalism" of the century. >> “Internationalism, (or the duty to help others), was at the core of the >> Cuban revolution,” Gleijeses writes. “For Castro’s followers, and they were >> legion, this was not rhetoric. By 1975, approximately 1,000 Cuban aid >> workers had gone to a dozen African countries, South Yemen, and North >> Vietnam. In 1976-77, technical assistance was extended to Jamaica and Guyana >> in the Western Hemisphere; to Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia in Africa; >> and to Laos in Asia....all places that had suffered bombings and illegal >> incursions at the hands of the U.S. >> Even the C.I.A. noted: "The Cuban technicians are primarily involved in >> rural development and educational and public health projects... areas in >> which Cuba has accumulated expertise and has experienced success at home." >> [Gleijeses, Piero. Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the >> Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976-1991. The University of North Carolina >> Press, 2013]. >> The fight against apartheid, for the liberation of people who suffered for >> centuries under colonialism and racial subjugation, was truly a David versus >> Goliath conflict. In addition to having a strong military itself and being >> armed with Israeli-supplied nuclear weapons, South Africa enjoyed the >> diplomatic support of the United States, the world’s largest superpower. Of >> course, this was because the main industries propping up the evil Apartheid >> regime were American corporations. Within this context, Cuba’s >> intervention....a poor Caribbean island under relentless attack from a >> racist juggernaut backed by the world’s leading imperial power, is even more >> remarkable. >> >> Explaining how the significance of Cuba’s role in Angola is “without >> precedent,” Gleijeses writes: “No other Third World country has projected >> its military power beyond its immediate neighborhood. The engine was Cuba. >> It was the Cubans who pushed the Soviets to help Angola. It was they who >> stood guard in Angola for many long years, thousands of miles from home, to >> prevent the South Africans from overthrowing the MPLA government.” He notes >> that while the Soviet Union later sent aid and weapons, they never would >> have become involved unless Castro had taken the lead (which he did in spite >> of Russian opposition): >> >> In Castro's Cuba, $1 could buy half a pint of milk, a month's childcare for >> one toddler and a box at the opera to see the visiting Bolshoi Ballet, and >> with one of the best healthcare systems in the world, cures for certain >> forms of cancer (which currently cost about one dollar in Cuba), Cuba's >> defiance, spanning the span of 11 U.S. presidencies, finally brought America >> to its knees as President Obama recently restored diplomatic relations with >> its hated enemy, after over half a century of enduring tactics the Gestapo >> would have been proud of. As usual, salivating over anticipated profits for >> Big-Pharma, what passes for American morality has been superseded by >> prevalent greed. It didn't assuage the much-vaunted American arrogance, >> either, that Russians had already signed a deal to drill for oil off the >> Cuban coast where Havana says there may be 20 billion barrels of oil, >> although the U.S. estimates there are only five billion barrels. >> >> So in conclusion, do these actions seem to you, the actions of a "brutal >> dictator" who cares nothing for the well-being of people? Whenever you read, >> or hear that Castro, or anyone else for that matter, was "a menace and >> brutal dictator", do your own research. People all around the world are >> lamenting the passing of this bearded revolutionary hero, who survived a >> crippling U.S. trade embargo as well as hundreds, of assassination plots for >> half a century. Castro overcame imprisonment at the hands of dictator >> Fulgencio Batista, exile in Mexico and a disastrous start to his rebellion >> before triumphantly riding into Havana in January 1959 to become, at age 32, >> the youngest leader in Latin America. For decades, he served as an >> inspiration and source of support to revolutionaries spanning Latin America >> to Africa. There is not a dry eye in Cuba, and many parts of the world >> today, and a 9-day period of mourning has been declared in Havana. The only >> ones rejoicing....well, you know it, the Americans, Cuban exile descendants >> of the Batista-era elite, and lapdog governments of France and Britain...as >> well as those who, either have something to gain from this news, or lacking >> historical context, just don't know any better. >> >> My footnote to the sordid tale of the Portugues-South African-American >> pillaging of Angola is that 40 years later, Portugal is broke...and Angola, >> crude oil-rich, graciously came to the rescue of their former brutal >> colonial oppressor, paying off their foreign debts. That is the true African >> spirit. America should borrow a page from the book of African humanity >> before it's too late....but in true 'Murices fashion, are busy draining >> Namibia of its uranium, Congo of its Coltan, and Botswana of its diamonds. >> Let it be known......Castro was a true hero. >> >> [Acknowledgements to Global Research from which portions of this post is >> extracted]. >> >> Images at the Facebook public post: >> https://www.facebook.com/tokunboh.jiboque/posts/10154719863578134 >>
