14 thoughts on “What a casualty!”

  4. I am new to the blog and enjoy the interaction. I must admit that I am disappointed with all of the teasing regarding the death of fifo. If there are new developments either keep it quiet or tell us what you know (obviously, in a way that will protect your sources.) As a newbie I spent most the night waiting to celebrate.

  5. It’s a destroyer, but it’s really interesting how short a time it’s spending in Fort Lauderdale. I’d still be waiting to see if an aircraft carrier makes a social call before chilling the bottles….
    BUT…
    …keep in mind that any role the US Navy would play in upcoming events would likely be holding off Venezuela’s navy, or preventing the leadership’s escape without some sort of agreement to stay the frak away from Cuba’s politics from here on. Destroyers would play a valuable role in that, seeing as both Cuba and Venezuela lack aircraft carriers.
    The closest nation with an aircraft carrier is Argentina, and castro and chavez are not very popular there. Funny how Argentina is so recently embroiled in a scandal involving chavez trying to buy some politicians, making him even less popular there. Wonder who could have possibly been tipping the Argentinians off?

  7. A US carrier might be overkill given the short distance from the US to Cuba, but more than one destroyer would be nice.

  9. Reaching?…Perhaps…
    But there was local news video where one of the officers was interviewed and IIRC, he stated they were going to stick around the area after liberty to assist the Coast Guard and DHS with their “tasks.”

  10. Lori,
    It all depends on a lot of things:
    What were the exact terms of the treaty that ended the Cuban Missile crisis, and which of these terms we don’t know about expire with fidel?
    Did fidel get to keep a “souvenir” of the Missile Crisis, and if he did, was fidel able to pass the codes on before passing on? Does US Intelligence know one way or the other for sure?
    Does chavez think raul can hold it together, or does he think raul is going to need a little…..”help?”
    IS raul going to need some help, and has he foolishly asked chavez for it?
    Inquiring minds want to know….

  11. I get the feeling that if Chavez sends his Navy to Cuba, he will receive a public or private message to stick his nose back in Venezuela and stay the f.. away from Cuba, but that message will not be coming from the Cuban government.

  12. RS,
    You’ve previously posted that any Missile Crisis deal “dies with fidel.” And, that he may have kept a “souvenier” as insurance. Other than in certain posts here (mostly yours), I have never read anything that suggests that any deal that may have been reached is personal to fidel, and ends when he kicks the bucket.
    What makes you say this? I am interested in whatever source you have for this. Same about keeping a “souvenier.” Thanks.

  13. LittleGator,
    There has not been a Soviet Union in quite a long time. Russia (the closest thing to a USSR successor) has relatively little interest or ability in maintaining the Cuban government in its current form. The KGB may not have been completely rooted out (witness Putin), but they are not so desperate for an outpost off Florida’s coast that they would hold anything over the USA’s head if we decided to do something about Cuba.
    castro’s agents have caused enough subversion in the USA to justify pretty much any means we want to use to contain it, including “consequences” for the Cuban regime. And for all of Clintoon’s faults, I don’t think he’d be all that on for covering castro’s ass in the 1990s. So why, with no USSR, a greatly weakened Russia, a KGB in disarray, were we seemingly doing nothing about castro?
    So now we have a GOP President, who is not only not a castro-buddy, but has been dealing with an antiwar movement partially funded by castro. Why continue the charade of wet-foot-dry-foot just to keep the Coast Guard in the Straits? Why is it the most overt thing Bush has done is have breakfast at Versailles the morning before the announcement of fidel’s stepping down? George, say what you will, isn’t the type to pussyfoot around like this—except where nukes are involved…
    The only conclusion I can come to is that Cuba, far from being a passive player in the Cuban Missile Crisis, may have had an active role that isn’t talked about much. What if we didn’t promise the USSR we’d leave castro alone—-but we promised fidel himself? How was fidel to hold us to this promise in such a way that even George Bush is held at bay decades later?

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