Earlier this year the State Department releashed its annual Report on Terrorism. Cuba, first added to the list in 1982, is once again included on the list of states sponsoring terrorism. When the report came out, the usual guffaws about Cuba’s inclusion on the list made the rounds, the implication being that to include Cuba on the list is silly.
On May 11, the House Committee on International Relations, International Terrorism and Nonproliferation Subcommitte chaired by U.S. Rep. Edward Royce (R-CA) held a hearing on the State Departments Report.
Present were seventeen committe members, ten Republicans and seven democrats. They were joined by witnesses Henry Crumpton, Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. State Department and Russell Travers, Deputy Director of Informaton Sharing and Knowledge Development, National Counterterrorism Center.
I expected the transcript of the hearings to include a heated debate about Cuba, instead the island nation was hardly mentioned.
From the transcript:
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL) speaking–I note that often when we talk about terrorism, the focus is the Middle East. However, there are important developments in our own hemisphere which the report shed lights on, we should be carefully examining, knowing these countries are our closest neighbors.
Highlighting a few of these, the triborder area between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil continues to be a significant concern, because of Hezbollah and Hamas fund-raising activity. Cuba still continues as a state sponsor of terror. Venezuela has virtually ceased its cooperation in the global war on terror, tolerating terrorists on its own territory and seeking closer relations with Cuba and Iran, both state sponsors of terrorism.
That’s it, that is all that was said about Cuba. It’s an accepted fact that Cuba sponsors terrorism. Even Rep. Diane Watson (D-Ca), who by the way brings nothing to the table; she who never seems to miss an opportunity to praise fidel castro and his stinking revolution didn’t question Cuba’s placement on the list.
You can read the transcript here.
Finally they are talking about this, I have written a lot about that border area on KillCastro. Now let’s see if there’s some action happening on kasstro’s general direction!