Kissinger Wanted to Attack Cuba in 1976
HAVANA TIMES — In what would no doubt have changed the course of history, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger considered plans in 1976 to attack Cuba to punish it for its intervention in the Angolan civil war, according to a new book released today, reported dpa.
Kissinger, who was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 in the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, considered air strikes and the mining of Cuban ports to “hit” the government of Fidel Castro, according to documents declassified accessed by the authors of the book “Back Channel to Cuba.”
“If we decide to use military force we must succeed. It can’t be halfway measures,” said Kissinger during a meeting with military officers on March 24, 1976, which was also attended by then Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.
“I think we’ll have to hit Castro,” Kissinger told President Ford, who accepted the proposal. The plans called for the possible attacks in 1977, after the presidential elections. That scenario was ruled out due to the victory of Jimmy Carter.
According to the authors of the book cited by the The New York Times, Kissinger was furious that Castro gave support to Angola and other African movements during the years of the Cold War.
Cuba provided decisive military support for the victory of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in 1975.
The former Secretary of State had supposedly wanted to boost efforts to improve relations between Washington and Havana, damaged after the triumph of Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959. The two countries have no formal diplomatic relations since the 60s.
Declassified Documents on the Internet: http://dpaq.de/oIEoK
Dear Mr. Moses, I would love to have the answers to this.
1. What made you think that I am an immigrant? Is my English that poor?? (My English used to very good….hmmmm..).
And unfortunately I am not patriotic. But yes, I will do anything to protect the people here in Great Britain from any harm. And I thought that you are Spanish or Mexican??? even though you live in Cuba.
2. I can never say that you should respect President Al Assad. (But then it is a relative term.) . What I said is about self respect and respecting sovereignty of another country.
3. Yes. Thousands of syrians are killed. And Thousands of American soldiers are killed in Afghanistan as well. Does it change any thing?? In Iraq Sadam Hussain is toppled. Does it change the number of killings in Iraq on a daily basis? In fact it increased. The problem is Americans (westerners as well) never understand these people. They are so different than how you guys are.
4. Bringing down Al Assad will only increase the number of death. They need a dictator. Killing and getting killed is a way of living for some people. I know that because I can understand some of their fanatic language and ofcourse, when they speak between themselves I understand what they speak even though they dont know it. You may be right. I may not care about the people who beheads others (innocent people) in the name of religion or anything. They dont have any right to exist. I have yet to come across a believer who tolerate people of other religions. I admire Obama for not sending troops into Syria or Iraq. Now, they cant capture American soldiers. he..he.. I like that. Then US can always use drones…… You cant compare Cuba with Syria. Different people, entirely different attitudes.
I dont think that people should believe that their country is better and they should be patriotic. In fact people should realize their shortcomings so that they could rectify their perception. Change will never come if People believe that they are better. I think people should understand that UK or US or Germany or France is better than most of the countries out there. Or in other words Democracy is always better than dictatorship. National boundaries are all man made or ‘Rogue made’ dear friend.
I was speaking metaphorically. It seems that my example went over your head. You wrote that Syria has a President and by definition should be respected. Really? Given the hundreds of thousands of Syrians he has killed, including the thousands who died from the use of chemical weapons, you still believe he should be respected simply because he is President? On this point, I must disagree with you as do most Americans. We believe in a moral right to govern. Bashar al-Assad has lost his moral right to govern given his alleged war crimes. You also seem to confuse ethnicity with nationality. America is a nation of immigrants yet we are all Americans. Given the quality of your English, I will dare to assume that you are a first or second generation immigrant to England yet you claim British nationality. By the way, I am not Caucasian not that it should matter. Great Britain is a great country and the strongest US ally around the world. Most people believe their country is ‘better’ as well they should. It’s called Patriotism.
Mr. Moses. “Reply Too long”?? A very good excuse if you cannot answer the questions I asked. Some people close their eyes towards truth. Yes. You can be blissfully ignorant and ofcourse it is your right. And you assume too much, which is wrong in my case. Just to answer what you said (US Hater), I am neither Pro-US nor anti-US. What I wrote are just observations. And yes, I am 101 percent against those fanatics in middle east and else where in the world. I wrote that reply assuming you are open minded aswell as not a hypocrite.
What exactly do you mean by American? If you are a caucasian, then you are also an immigrant just like anybody (who is not native american) else.
Then your question about neighbour abusing children in which you allude me aswell. I dont have to prove anything to you but I dont abuse my wife or child. And ofcourse I dont intervene in my neighbour’s private affairs as well. We got laws in this country. If I hear or see anything illegal I report it to police. You may not understand that if you are an American. (explained in detail in my previous reply about liberty and freedom).
Yes. Thank God, I am not American. I live in a much better country called Great Britain.
Your comment is too long for me to give reply to every point. Generally, your overriding criticism is the ever-popular “Hypocrisy of US policy” criticism leveled by most anti-US haters. Simply put, consider this: Your next door neighbor beats his wife and abuses his kids. Your logic is that because he is legally married and the biological father of the abused children, you have no moral let alone legal right to intervene in his private affairs. Especially if you also argue with your wife and discipline your children. Is that what you believe? The US, flaws and all, has a moral responsibility to do what we can do to help where we can help. Giving your comment, I assume you are not American and will likely struggle to understand that.
Dear Mr. Moses, I replied to you comment. But it was deleted. Havana times seems to be too afraid of truth.
Anyway, my apologies for the sweeping statement I made. As you mentioned I used the word psychopath wrongly. Megalomaniac might be a better word. If I get a chance to send you my explanations directly, i would do that without hurting Havana times feelings. ha.
Dear Mr. Moses, I being ant-US or Pro-US has nothing to do with what I said. But yes, you are right, I used the word psychopath wrongly. I shouldn’t say such a sweeping statement. My apologies. Okay. Then coming to the argument,
1) What reason would you think was behind the intention of Mr. Kissinger to decide to invade Cuba? Only because Cuba chose to be a communist country? Every nation has a right to decide what sort of government they need. Fidel Castro is not one among us. He is one among them. Americans has no right to invade Cuba on the basis of that. Do Americans respect the freedom or liberty of Cubans?
2) Syria got a president. He may be a dictator. But still he is the president. Recently, US started bombing inside Syria without consulting the Syrian government. Is n’t that a breach of Syrian Sovereignty? If Russia decide to bomb South Korea or Japan, would the American’s think that it is alright?? Do Americans understand what is Sovereignty?
3) US was accusing Russia for invasion of other countries. Do you know who invaded the most countries in the last 5 years? Dont you think that it is hypocrisy?
4) US was accusing Chinese for hacking into US computers. But it was revealed recently that US was not only hacking into Chinese business and military computers but also into German businesses as well. Does Americans got any integrity??
5) Recently Mr.Kerry called for HongKong to show restraint toward protesters. It Mr.Kerry had told this to the Police force in Ferguson, the unrest now there would not have happened in the first place.
6) Today Mr.Joe Biden is “Very Sorry” about what he spoke about UAE. If US had stayed out of attacking Iraq in the name of Weapons of Mass Destruction or interfering in Syria, IS would not have been created. Did US find Weapons of Mass destruction? NO. It was just a lie to cover for the invasion. Even Nayirah’s testimony of atrocities of Iraqi soldiers were a bunch of lies. She happened to be the daughter of Kuwaiti ambassador in US. It is because of the US invasion in Iraq, the region became unstable and now is fertile for extremist organisations like IS. Sadam Hussain was a dictator but he was the best to tackle terrorism. After Gaddafi, Libya became a launching pad for illegal immigrants (future fanatics) trying to reach Europe or US. In Syria, US and UK trained and supplied arms to rebels secretly. They went and joined IS. US intention was to invade Syria to topple Al-Assad. If he had been toppled then Syria would have been under the control of IS.
7) US jailed UK citizens for hacking into american computers. Then it was revealed that in fact, NSA is actually monitoring all of our activities online by hacking into our computers. Yes. US is hacking into our computers…. Do you know what we call those type of people?? W@….kers.
8) One day we saw Mr. Obama patting Ms. Merkel’s shoulders telling that Germany is a staunch ally(US) in the war against terrorism. Next day it was revealed that US is not only hacking into German Businesses but also tapping Ms.Merkel’s phone calls. Do American’s know the meaning of the word ‘Trustworthy’??
9) US was crying genocide in Syria, Nigeria, Libya etc. Would it be better to check their own history of genocide and Ethnic cleansing when they invaded America which belongs to native Indians from all over Europe. Oh.. Yes.. Those Europeans were actually criminals exiled from their native countries.. Is nt it?
US shall persecute Mr. Snow Den who acted against humanity. We shall give one more Nobel Price for peace to Mr. Obama. Yes. America stands for Peace and Liberty.
It was Fidel’s strategy from the beginning to keep the US out of Cuba by antagonizing, insulting and provoking the Americans, while drawing the USSR in closer as a counterbalance.
It has been claimed that the US drove Cuba into the arms of the USSR. But that is in fact backwards. Castro deliberately courted the USSR as a counterbalance to the US because he wanted to maintain a constant state of animosity between Havana and Washington. It has served the Revolution well to have a dangerous enemy just 90 miles to the north.
In my opinion, if he had been re-elected, Gerald Ford would not have accepted Kissinger’s advice and attacked Cuba. Ford was not a reckless leader and there would have been no positive outcome from such an outrageous plan.
Ford would have increased CIA support of Angolan rebel groups fighting the Cuban and Soviet backed MPLA. Carter cut CIA support for UNITA and the FNLA. As a consequence, the Cuban military was able to install into power in Luanda their protégés, the MPLA.
You have established your anti-US creds. Although I think you are using the word psychopath incorrectly. If what you mean by “everybody should live according to Americans” is to say live free to express your views on internet blogs, no matter how ridiculous, then you are right. If you mean free to earn a living according to your capacity do so, then I heartily agree. Finally, if you mean freedom to have more than one man (or his brother) as President for 55 years, then we are on the same page. As far as being descended from criminals, isn’t that what they say about Australians? They aren’t so bad are they? Besides, judging from your comment, I would bet you have some antecedents who were brother and sister and incest is illegal in most places.
You are mistaken. Kennedy insiders believe that he would likely have engaged Castro in early 1964, had he not been assassinated in November of 1963. As assassination with Castro fingerprints all over it. Clinton, likewise, was prepared to relax relations with Cuba as well. Then Castro ordered the shootdown of an unarmed propeller-driven plane killing four Americans. Congressional notes point out that there was a groundswell to a declaration of war against Cuba. It was all Clinton could do to calm things by signing the Helms Burton Act. Even Obama wanted to do something with Cuban relations then Castro took Gross as a hostage and here we are. What you call stupid was simply good politics. Helping communist Cuba would have cost more votes than it would bring. No sitting President wants to capitulate to the Castros without significant democratic reforms.
I have heard Jimmy Carter called a number of things, but I don’t recall anybody ever accusing him of being an “intellectual”.
I find it interesting that before becoming President, Carter, Clinton, & Obama all called for lifting the embargo and improving relations with Cuba. Yet once in office they back-peddled hard. The Cuban’s always found a way to scuttle any attempt at improving relations. Also, given that only once they became President did they receive the full unredacted intelligence file on Cuba, during which they learned some nasty things about Castro which made it impossible for the US to ever make peace with him.
It’s not really a matter of Republicans and Democrats. Plenty of Democrat presidents have had a bad relationship with Cuba – Kennedy (Bay of Pigs) and Clinton (Helms Burton) to name two. The difference is that Carter is considered the most intellectual president that the US has ever had. He understood the situation between the two countries and opted for a sensible approach. The other Democrat presidents have all acted really stupidly while in office, but then seem to regret it after they have left power and urge their successors to act differently.
Yes. You are right. Cuba would have been bombed. Americans are some sort of psychopaths. Is nt it? They dont know the meaning of the words, liberty, respect, sovereignty etc. They believe that they can interfere anywhere and everybody should live according to Americans. We cant blame. The now american people are actually the descendants of criminals who migrated from Europe and massacred the natives. How long shall we wait to see them prosecuted for ethnic cleansing??
In a just world, which this one isn’t, Kissenger would be tried and convicted as a war criminal. Instead, he was co-recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize (proving, once again, Voltaire’s dictum that, “Prizes are like hemorrhoids; sooner or later every asshole gets one!”). In retrospect, I’ve come to appreciate Jimmy Carter much more than I did back in the 1970’s. How shameful he has not been allowed to speak at the last two conventions of the Democrat Party due to his views on the Apartheid state of Israel. In the 1970’s, Kissinger wanted to support South Africa, the original Apartheid state, in its proxy war against Angola. It doesn’t matter; in the end History will NOT absolve him, and he will join the other ignomnius villains, like Foreign Minister von Ribbontrop, on the 9th ring of hell!
For those anti-US pro-Castro sycophants who rant that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats in the US , take note. Castro should be grateful that Jimmy Carter was elected. Had Ford been reelected, Cuba would have been bombed according to this book. Carter, not only did not bomb Cuba but went on to reestablish quasi-diplomatic relations by creating Interest Section Offices through the Swiss embassies in both countries.