Bolton's Charges: Where's the Proof? Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [If the US Government refuses to produce its alleged "evidence" against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, they sure as hell won't offer "proof" for their outlandish "bioterrorism" charges against Cuba. But for what it's worth, here is one newspaper that is bucking the totalitarian line and connecting some of the political dots.] source - JosePertierra@aol.com South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial - May 8, 2002 PRODUCE PROOF AND A PLAN Former President Jimmy Carter is going to Cuba on Sunday. On the eve of his trip, a U.S. State Department official has said, in effect, that Carter is visiting a Caribbean sponsor of bioterrorism. Where's the beef? Without hard evidence, these remarks seem aimed at appeasing anti-Castro hardliners rather than protecting U.S. national security. The U.S. State Department now says that Cuba may be producing a small amount of germs that can be used in biological warfare and that it is sharing this technology with rogue states. This isn't the Cuban Missile Crisis Part II, but these are grave allegations. When faced with a nuclear threat 90 miles from U.S. shores, President Kennedy in 1962 disclosed evidence and laid out an action plan. The Bush administration now needs to provide the proof of its claims, and say how it plans to handle this alleged proliferation of biological weaponry. Cuba has long been on the State Department's list of terrorist nations, but this is the first time an administration official has directly linked Cuba to biological warfare. John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, made the charge in a speech before the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank. Bolton also talked about bioterrorism concerns in Syria and Libya, but the bulk of his remarks focused on Cuba. He said: "The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort," and that it has "provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states." The State Department declined to elaborate on Bolton's statements. In the past, others have raised concerns about Cuba's capacity to produce biological weapons. Cuba, for instance, has sold medical supplies and hepatitis vaccines to Iran. Defector Jose de la Fuente, former director of a biotechnology research center in Cuba, has said that Iran could use Cuba's technology to produce biological weapons. A 2001 report from the Lexington Institute, an anti-embargo think tank, however, pointed out that de la Fuente did not claim that Cuba is developing these weapons or that it sold medical technology to Iran with a military purpose. The United States continues to fight a war against terrorism in Central Asia, where the al-Qaida network remains a real threat. The American people deserve clear information about terrorism and matters that affect their security. In regard to Cuba, the Bush administration needs to provide proof, not innuendo. Copyright (c) 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytmed-05.09.02-03:11:00-16771