Saturday, August 16, 2008

Whether the Georgian Republic or Posada Carriles, Betraying Allies Is the New American Doctrine

Nothing is more dangerous in today's world than to be an ally of the United States. The president of Georgia has recently had occasion to see that for himself. It's not only that being a U.S. ally makes you a target for all its enemies; the resolute support of the U.S. could counter the worst effects of the enmity of America's enemies. The problem for America's allies is that being one is no longer a guarantee of its support. In fact, if a country wants to receive U.S. assistance and protection it is better to declare itself an enemy than prove itself a friend. Then, as in the case of Iraq, the U.S. will go to any lengths to safeguard its interests there. America knows how to forgive enemies (too readily perhaps) but has forgotten how to stand by its friends. I know of no word to describe such a tendency so I'll invent one: unreal politik.

It is not just nations that fall prey to this new U.S. doctrine of abandoning allies in their hour of need. Individuals are just as vulnerable when their usefulness to the U.S. has ceased. There is no more egregious an example of this than Luís Posada Carriles, the CIA-operative who fought America's battles and supported its interests in the world for nearly half a century. He is now, of course, the quarry of the world's biggest lynch mob, led by such upholders of justice as Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. No matter that Posada has been repeatedly tried and repeatedly exonerated of the same offense by different courts in the course of more than 30 years. The sentence that his enemies desire has yet to be obtained against him and they shall not cease in their efforts until they have buried the Rule of Law or Posada Carriles.

While Fidel Castro, who is responsible for the deaths of the 73 passengers on the Cubana de Aviación plane that was downed near Barbados in 1976 in addition to more than 100,000 other innocent victims of his tyrannic rule, enjoys a placid retirement with no final rendering of accounts in sight, Posada Carriles, whose only crime is to have fought against Castro on all fronts for 50 years, is targeted by every terrorist state in the hemisphere as its "Public Enemy #1." If it weren't tragic it would be risible.

The United States, also, has contributed its mite to his persecution by indicting him on immigration charges when he entered the U.S. in 2005. After a lifetime of serving the interests of this country on four continents the least that Posada Carriles had a right to expect at age 80 was to be allowed to live out his few remaining years here. Instead, he was arrested and incarcerated on trumped-up charges which 20 million illegal immigrants in this country could also be indicted for if it were politically expedient for the U.S. to do so.

At his first trial, District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone dismissed all counts against Posada because the government had engaged in "fraud, deceit and trickery" in prosecuting his case. "This court finds," wrote Cardone, "the government's tactics in this case are so grossly shocking and so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice." Now an appellate court has ruled that "neither of the grounds put forward by the district court -- grounds which have been loosely characterized as government deception and outrageous conduct -- supports the drastic remedy of dismissal of the indictment." Yes, the Appeals Court ruled that it is permissible for the government to practice deception and engage in outrageous conduct to secure an indictment, but the fact that it practiced deception and engaged in outrageous conduct is not sufficient grounds to dismiss the indictment.

We once said that Posada Carriles was living in a perpetual Groundhog Day. As in the movie, he is acquitted in the morning and wakes up the next day to find himself being tried again for the same offense. That appears to be his unhappy destiny and the wages of having served this country.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Absolved Again As His Enemies Never Will Be


There has probably been no man in history who has been subjected to more judicial persecution by the anti-democratic machinations of democratic states than Luís Posada Corrales. For two years, the Bush administration held Posada in what amounted to preventive detention for supposed "peligrosidad," in effect transforming its Constitution and laws into a copy of Castro's in order to visit Cuban "justice" on Posada without the necessity of extraditing him to Cuba. Two years in the life of an 80-year-old man is no little thing and their fraudulent legal maneuverings would have continued until they drove him into the grave except for the courage and integrity of one woman, District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone, who vindicated her country's noblest traditions by ending this shameless farce perpetrated by a mercenary Justice Department headed by a deceitful Attorney General and an even more deceitful president. '"Fraud, deceit and trickery'' is how Judge Cardone characterized the government's case in a startling indictment of the Bush administration by a judge appointed by George Bush.

We who have always believed in him and defended him unconditionally also feel vindicated today. But even if this day had never come and Posada had continued to be persecuted by his erstwhile allies our faith in him and the righteousness of his cause would remain unshaken.

This is not the end. The government will continue through other means its persecution of Posada. In his case, we know that double jeopardy means nothing and that he is likely to be re-tried again under other guises for crimes of which he has long been acquitted. As I observed on another post, Posada is trapped in a judicial Groundhog Day, and no matter how many times he is proven innocent he is doomed to relive this nightmare forever. True and selfless patriot that he is, Posada will continue to uphold our national honor and preserve the legacy of the great heroes of our struggles for independence. We are fortunate indeed to have among us a man whose life and deeds mirror those of our epic liberators. Let us judge ourselves by his example and decide whether we too have done everything that we could to advance the cause of liberty in our country and of human dignity for all men.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are "spot on" on all of your expressed opinions and overall analysis of this issue, well said Manuel.

Angel Garzón said...

The United States of America has many times proven to be the best enemy a nation can have, just as it has as many times proven to be the worst friend or ally a nation can have. Now more than ever, we need John McCain as Commander in Chief, the fate of global freedom and democracy are at stake, come November of this year we will know whether or not the world will be led towards an inevitable repetition of what humanity witnessed during the first half of the twentieth century, WWI and WWII are two of the lessons of history that we cannot afford to ignore, they are by no means the only lessons that we should heed, but they are certainly the most notable ones, if we choose to ignore them, we will be headed straight for WWIII and the potential holocaust of most, if not all of humanity. God help us all.

Anonymous said...

John MC Cain can't handle it. Sorry

Vana said...

Posada Carriles is a hero, this country would do well to leave him alone, what he did was done in the service of this country, that the USA chooses to turn his back on him is tantamount to a stab in the back, but what are we to expect, as you so well put it Manuel, to ally oneself or nation with this country is to find oneself alone in a time of crisis, or worse.

Anonymous said...

That can be a real problem.

Fulano de Cal said...

http://libertadparaarocena.netforcuba.org/

sign the petition

Anonymous said...

Manuel,

I grew up in this country and I have to say that all of my youthful illusions about the USA have been shattered.

I couldn't agree with you more.

Vana said...

Manuel:

Glad to hear Posada Carriles has been again absolved, time to leave an old man and hero be, but you know the Castro's and Chavez will continue to ask for his extradition, let us hope he's not turned over to them ever.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

anonymous:

It is better to live with one's eyes opened than with one's eyes closed. Be glad that you have been disabused of those delusions.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

vana:

It is my hope that Posada Carriles will be absolved yet again. If the Fifth Circuit's decision is appealed to the Supreme Court, it will be a long process, and at Posada's age any long process will work in his favor. If the trial for immigration fraud proceeds as ordered, Judge Kathleen Cardone, who originally dismissed the charges again Posada, will hear the case again. She is already on record as believing that the indictment against him was obtained through fraudulent means and we must assume that she, at least, has not changed her mind. If all things remain the same, then I am confident that Posada Carriles will be acquitted yet again. He is already the most acquitted man in history, for all the good it has done him.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

angel:

The crisis in Georgia has shown the need for a commander-in-chief who will stand by America's allies and protect its interests throughout the world. We need a genuine warrior in the White House and not a chicken hawk or a chicken.

Vana said...

Manuel:

Thank God Judge Cardone will again hear his case, she seems like a wise and just Judge, the one Posada Carriles needs, poor man little did he know what his service to his and this country meant.

Anonymous said...

How can any Cubano call anyone a chicken or a chickenhawk?

You pallasos are the epitome of cowardice.

What is cut & run al lo Cubano?

Build & float!!!!!!

Cari said...

Anon @ 1:51 PM:

It is obvious that you know nothing about Cuba or Cubans.

You won't even be transparent and use a name. What are you afraid of?
Where are you from?

In light of the FACT that Cubans have no weapons, what do you expect them to fight with...coconuts and bananas? How "easy" do you really think it is to "float" across the Florida straights? How many people do you think have been lost at sea?

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

anonymous:

A clown to me is someone who spells payaso with a double-l.

Vana said...

Cari:

Obviously anon is not Cuban and we are fodder for his hate if he is he's a rouge American-Cuban, it's not easy to topple a bloody regime with sticks and stones, when you are made to hit the streets every day to search for food to put on your children's table, way too many lives have been lost at sea while the world turns a blind eye to their plight, we are alone Cari only we care.

Anonymous said...

Another South Florida storm. Ho-hum...
So here I am after an almost two-day orgy with my new bedroom home theater setup: a 40-inch 1080p Samsung LCD TV, and my two new sources: a Samsung Blu-Ray player and Apple TV. Apple TV is an amazing product: I can wirelessly stream all my content on iTunes -- music, movies, photos, podcasts -- via 802.11n and Ethernet, in excellent fidelity. (Don't tell the wife: a virtual 5.1 all-in-one HT speaker is next on my list...) While I'm in there enjoying movies and music, my wife is in the living room reading, my son is gaming on the laptop, my dog is sleeping and my cat is digging in his litter.

I bring this up to illustrate that those of us who live here in Hurricane Alley are pretty jaded by all the hysteria we hear. We have a new metal roof, aluminum shutters for every window and door, a generator, both cars are filled up with gas, and we have the recommended three days worth of supplies and water. We're ready for whatever comes, tomorrow or until season's end. After living through Hurricanes Cleo, Betsy, Andrew, Frances, Jeanne, Katrina, Wilma, the no-name storm, et al, us natives can pretty much handle anything. We're a tough bunch.

The weather has, as of this writing, turned a little sour, but pretty tame in comparison to the apocalyptic thunderstorms we sometimes get in the summertime. Hurricanes and tropical storms are the price we pay for living in South Florida. Once the season is done, though, we'll get beautiful weather in November, December and January, without the worry of shoveling snow. Stay safe people.

Posted by George Moneo at 05:25 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Habla (4)

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

anonymous:

At the Bay of Pigs it was the Cubans who did the fighting and the Americans who did the betraying. Every calamity that has ever befallen the Cuban people, especially but not limited to Castro, has been the result of American hubris, which is not quite the same thing as courage. But for Washington's relentless meddling in our affairs Cuba might today be a free country rather than the charnel house which it has become under Castro.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,
But you were not so successful in VietNam, were you? There an asian backward nation without any nuclear weapons or fancy aircraft carriers or huge B-52's airplanes kicked your ass out of their country and the whole world saw your troops and Embassy personnel barely escaping from the rooftops of your Embassy clinging to the helicopters. What was your excuse there? You had more troops than the Vietnamese, more weapons, more airplanes, more ships and yet you could not win that war. What happened? I wil tell you, you were defeated and had to run out of there. People with glass roofs in their houses should not throw stones at their neighbor's.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

anonymous:

Long before Spain did, Cubans enjoyed a standard of living that was comparable to that of the most advanced European countries. Cuba became a pauper state when the U.S. installed Castro in power and Castro introduced Communism to Cuba. Since then Americans have done everything in their power to maintain Cuba as Castro's fiefdom. During the Cold War, the U.S. purchased its security at the expense of our freedom. Even today it prefers to to deal (or not deal) with a tyrant rather than a free nation 90 miles from its shores.

Spain, once the mightiest nation on earth, colonized more than half of the states that now comprise the continental United States. As leader of the free world, Spain saved Western civilization at Lepanto. The U.S., the world's only superpower, finds it impossible to extricate itself from a war that it supposedly won 5 years ago or to capture the culprit that dealt it its greatest defeat in modern history. And now, Bush, in the best Chamberlain style, has just handed Georgia as a propitiatory offering to Russia for "peace in our time."

As was recently announced by the Census Bureau, Hispanics will be the majority population in this country by 2042 (eight years ahead of schedule). I guess you'll have to move somewhere else more to your liking, perhaps to a Muslim Germany or a Jamaicanized Britain.

Anonymous said...

Manuel said:

"Every calamity that has ever befallen the Cuban people, especially but not limited to Castro, has been the result of American hubris"

These are the words of a fidelista sin fidel.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

serafín:

Fidelistas sin Fidel are grateful to the U.S. for having installed the Revolution in power. This distinguishes them from the fidelistas con Fidel, who are grateful to no one.

Fidelistas sin Fidel are generally stooges of the United States as they once were Fidel Castro's. Sycophancy is their natural state though they change masters when it suits them.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame the continuity in this subject, the man is already too old to pay for whatever the world think was done wrong. USA most be worried about other subjects more important than his extradition just to fulfilled foreign interests.

Jill
outsourcing solution

Anonymous said...

Let's be honest ("estilo" Orly Bosch...a pediatrician who wouldn't have lifted a scapel to save anyone on that plane). If Posada C. would "fess up to the bombing, for some people he'd still be a hero!!! (No se hagan)

Anonymous said...

Obby VP¨ elect coming soon tonite possible

I will keep you posted

Is it Kerry, Richardson , how about Hillary

Ms Calabaza said...

Funny, even OJ Simpson has had his rights respected more than this man. How many trials are they going to have until they finally get a guilty verdict? It is so obvious this is a political witchhunt. Maybe we can prosecute him under the hate crimes statute next if this prosecution does not work, huh? /s/