WASHINGTON - 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 pay millions of dollars to dissidents who fight for democratic change.
"The message will be: The United States stands with you," Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla., one of the authors, said in an interview. "Be ready to assert your independence."
There was no sign of upheaval in Cuba 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.
The handover was a surprise to the White House and Congress, one senator said.
Okay, I can understand how the U.S. was caught completely unaware of Castro's temporarily handing power to his brother Raul while he underwent surgery. But what is this talk of providing government aid to Cuban dissidents? What is the Bush administration planning--another Bay of Pigs? Continuing with the Yahoo story:
For now, administration officials and members of Congress were focused on offering dissidents cash for fighting for Democratic change.
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 that almost immediately--to dissidents and non-governmental organizations on the island.
Recommended by a presidential commission three weeks ago, the legislation says those eligible for the money would include political prisoners, workers' rights organizations, independent libraries, journalists, doctors and economists.
The problem I have with this government aid being given to dissidents is that we don't where this aid is going. If this aid is going towards providing humanitarian food or medical supplies to the Cuban people, then I have no problem with that. But if this aid is going towards arming these dissidents for the day when Castro does actually die in office and allow these dissidents to launch their own guerrilla war against the post-Castro government, then I have a real problem with the U.S. again meddling in Cuban affairs with disastrous results. The best thing for the Bush administration and the U.S. government to do is to wait Fidel Castro out. And then wait Raul Castro's term out. Both men are of advanced age, and it is possible that within ten years, they will both be dead. So within ten years, you could have a post-Castro government in Cuba. It may not be the government that the Cuban dissidents are dreaming of, but it is certainly a government that the U.S. could initiate negotiations with.
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