Nicholas: ITA with your assessment, pro and con, of Fidel. How royally nepotistic of him to pass on leadership to his brother. Like Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il, or George Bush the First to George the Second, and next to Jeb Bush…

What frightens me about Fidel finally losing his grasp on power is that we’re seeing where the next U.S. military adventure will be. Apologies to you, ib, and regrets for what your grandparents lost, but I fear we’re going to see a lot of people with your grievances returning to Cuba to “reclaim what was stolen from us.” I used to live in Florida, and my daughter is still in North Miami Beach. I’m acquainted with the hothead atmosphere of the fanatics on Calle Ocho.

The same political opportunists who whipped up a fervour over Elian Gonzales will start a reverse Mariel boatlift or an unarmed Bay of Pigs. Cuban-Americans will get killed by Cubans who never left. “What do you mean ‘Get out of your grandfather’s house?’ I’ve been living here for 15 years? BAM!” That will be all the provocation beeded for an intervention. Especially if there is anarchy in Cuba when Fidel finally carks it. U.S. troops will go in under the banner of “promoting democracy and freedom” just as they did in Iraq. And we’ve seen how badly that played out.

I don’t like Fidel. He’s a tinhorn tyrant; Saddam with less mass murder. But I’m hoping he stays alive a little longer. Otherwise, a lot of Cubans are going to die. On the bright side, that would get the troops out of Iraq. Not enough soldiers to go around!

As a Cuban American whose grandparents had their property appropiated by the current regime, I totally agree!!!

Spinoza,

Must disagree with you in terms of his place in history, amonst a bevy of other things.  His tenure is impressive, but it is far, far from benevolent.  Having lived and worked on the island for three years, I suppose I come off with a divergent perspective. 

It is indeed undeniable that he has done some markedly positive things for the country.  It is, though, clearly evident that the negatives far outweigh those, and at this point in his life he cares more about his personal legacy than he does his country’s well-being. 

Let’s look at a few contrasting examples.  Over two million have fled the island on flimsy rafts.  Students aren’t allowed to congregate to protest or voice opposition.  Press is monitored and controlled strictly by the State, and news across Cuba--even that which is pirated from foreign sources--is manipulated to feed his meglamaniacal tendencies.  Thousands in the wake of a deceitful Revolution were summarily executed.  Medical tourism has become big business for Cuba.  While it brings in hard cash, it also has created a situation where the foreigner’s interest supersedes the national’s, and the national is forced to wait weeks sometimes for procedures they used to get in minutes.  Most recently, an economic apartheid has been established that seeks to accumulate tourist dollars for the Central Governmeny (which uses a portion of it to pay off foreign debt) while suppressing any upward mobility for those Cubans that need it the most.  I could list more, but I think you get the general idea.

None of this, though, excuses what has become a malodorous economic blockade invoked by the United States.  Acquiescing to a minority in South Florida has done nothing to promote civil--in terms of free speech, press and assembly--liberties on the island, and has in fact only emboldened a cottage industry.  That said, Castro has deftly used the Embargo to his own advantage, and there indeed is substantial merit in arguing that he in fact would not be alive without it.  He’s had exceptionally favorable offers to end it--beginning most notably with his rejection of Wayne Smith and the Carter Administration’s call to end the Embargo if there was a cessation of funding to Puerto Rican Separtists.

Survival and longevity shouldn’t gauge the success of a leader, particularly when that leader has created a web of distrust and confiscated the majority of the weapons on the island.  I agree with you on one thing, but must amend it slightly.  The Cuban people will never be asked what they want--be it by the current administration in Washington and certainly not the successor government planned for by Fidel and his politburo.

Castro will likely be viewed as someone whose grand ideas in his fledgling years were traded for self-sustainability and ideological survival.

Castro will go down as one of the greatest men in history.  There are few people who have had such an impact on the world.  When one thinks of his intellectual prowess and thinks of the mediocrities that have been our leaders we should be embarrassed.  He has outlasted (I think) 9 of our idiot presidents, many of whom have tried to kill him.  Castro survived.  Just imagine if the USA did not attack the Castro regime or even gave support. Can you imagine that?  There is no doubt the world would have been a better place.

Our fascist depraved moron of a president is planning to “transform” Cuba back into a capitalist paradise.  You can be certain the Cuban people will never be asked what they want.