|
They Hate Us For Our Hypocrisy
By Eugene Robinson
05/14/07 "Truth
Dig" --- - 05/11/07 -- WASHINGTON—The Bush
administration says that its zero-tolerance policy against
terrorism applies to all suspected evildoers, not just Muslims,
and that its zero-tolerance policy against Cuba is a principled
position, not just an exercise in pandering to the implacable
anti-Castro exiles in Miami. On both counts, evidence suggests
otherwise.
The fact is that Luis Posada Carriles, an accused terrorist who
entered the United States illegally and was taken into custody
by authorities, is not being kept in solitary confinement and
dragged out for occasional waterboarding. As of this writing, he
is a free man.
Posada, 79, has a long history of violent opposition to Fidel
Castro’s regime. He was accused of masterminding the 1976 midair
bombing of a civilian Cuban airliner, a terrorist act that
killed 73 innocent people. He is also suspected of involvement
in a 1997 series of bombings of Havana hotels and nightclubs;
several people were injured and an Italian tourist was killed.
Terrorism, our government constantly reminds us, is the scourge
of our times. So why is a man described by our government as “an
unrepentant criminal and admitted mastermind of terrorist plots
and attacks on tourist sites” looking forward to a hero’s
welcome in Miami from his old Bay of Pigs comrades?
Posada sneaked into the country in 2005, and had the temerity to
advertise his presence by giving a news conference. After some
dithering, Homeland Security officials took him into custody. He
was indicted in January on federal charges of immigration fraud
for lying about how he entered the United States.
On Tuesday, in El Paso, Texas—where Posada had been held—U.S.
District Judge Kathleen Cardone dismissed the indictment against
Posada, saying the government had resorted to unconstitutional
“trickery” in gathering its evidence against him. It was
Cardone’s dismissal order that set Posada free.
Cardone found that in Posada’s formal immigration interview
after the feds whisked him away in 2005, the government failed
to provide adequate translation of the questions and answers.
What the government contended were lies about how Posada had
made his way into the United States looked more like
misunderstandings, Cardone concluded.
It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t the first time Posada
has used his allegedly poor command of English as an excuse: He
claims he didn’t understand what he was saying years ago when he
boasted to a reporter of his role in the Havana bombings.
So, was the judge snookered into letting a hardened terrorist
walk on a technicality? Not really. It’s more the case that the
judge refused to play along.
Cardone’s point was that if the government really wanted to keep
Posada behind bars because he was a career terrorist, then
prosecutors should have prosecuted him as a terrorist. Then,
faster than you can say “Patriot Act,” authorities could have
made him disappear into the netherworld of indefinite detention
where terrorist suspects named Muhammad are kept.
I’ll wager that the evidence against Posada, which I find
compelling, is more solid than the secret evidence against most
of the detainees at Guantanamo. But Posada’s alleged crimes were
against the Castro regime. George W. Bush’s stance toward Cuba
has been even more hardheaded and counterproductive than the
policies of his predecessors. This administration has tightened
the travel ban, increased economic pressure and made a show of
planning for a post-Castro Cuba. Meanwhile, Castro (apparently
recovering slowly from intestinal surgery) and his brother Raul
are as firmly in power as ever. The administration’s hard-line
tactics have accomplished less than nothing—in Cuba, at least.
The zero-tolerance policy toward the Castro government has been
popular, however, among the most strident exiles in Florida—the
old men who will greet Posada when he comes home to Miami and a
comfortable retirement.
A grand jury in New Jersey reportedly is investigating Posada’s
alleged involvement in the Havana hotel bombings, and it’s
possible that he will someday face a new indictment. Meanwhile,
our government has given Castro another cause celebre for
billboards and demonstrations.
The administration is about to increase funding for its
broadcasts into Cuba, even though they are seen and heard by few
Cubans because Castro’s people have gotten so good at jamming
them. The message is that the United States opposes the Castro
regime but offers a hand of friendship to the Cuban people.
That’s a tough idea to sell when our government won’t call a
terrorist a terrorist—and when a bitter old man who likely has
killed scores of Cuban civilians is allowed to walk free.
Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at
symbol)washpost.com.
© 2007, Washington Post Writers Group
Click here
to comment on this and other articles
Send Page To a Friend
In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational
purposes. Information Clearing House has no
affiliation whatsoever with the originator of
this article nor is Information ClearingHouse
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
|
