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If there any way that Freedom loving people can help the Cuban patriot, Luis Posada Carriles?
Please let us know. I am happy that he is with family and friends. God Bless him.

Henry, do you also object to the U.S. bombing of Germany & Japan during WWII?

Of course not. What I agree with is that Posada, like anyone else accused of a crime, deserves due process not the conviction in the media that he's getting.

In terms of what is fair in war, those things change over time. I don't think indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets is acceptable today. That's just the way things are. That's why we have smart bombs and the like. Civilians are going to get killed in wars but they shouldn't be the target.

Thanks Henry, I’m just trying to clarify hypothetically what could be done to bring down an illegitimate government like the castro regime in our current politically correct world. Exiles don’t have access to smart bombs. Is there an acceptable way for someone like Posada to wage war against castro?

Unfortunately our government has made it illegal to plan an armed attack on Cuba. So the answer is no, but there should be.

I agree with Henry that targeting civilians isn't, and should never be, acceptable, particularly in a non-military operation.

Let's make no mistake...the bombing of the Cubana airlines plane did not occur within a militaristic context. If this makes me sound "critical" of those who decide to undertake their own covert operations to bring down a dictator, then I apologize in advance.

Henry, Robert,

Be careful guys! You might incur the wrath of Tellechea the omnipotent! Especially if you have the audacity and gall to express an opinion contrary to his Superiorness's.

Telle-who?

Robert, are you saying you would not condone any "covert" action by someone not internationally accepted as part of a legitimate military? If that is so, who decides that legitimacy?

Ziva,

What I'm saying is that civilians should never be the target of any operation, which is basically the same thing Henry said. We all know that civilians historically have been targeted under extraordinary circumstance during wars. However, we shouldn't even begin to compare the shoot down of the civilian Cubana plane to an "official" war.

I took it one step further by stating that civilians shouldn't be the target of a rogue and independent (i.e. not affiliated with any government entity) attack.

If they want to go after the big dog, fine. But shooting down a civilian aircraft? I can't accept that.

I don't want to sound a discordant note here,but..
Marti did not ask anyone for permission to organize armed revolts against the tyranny of Spain. In fact,history shows that many Cubans ran afoul of US laws in the 1890's with illegal expeditions and shipments of arms that were sent to Cuba and many were confiscated by the US authorities at that time. So this is nothing new, only the characters and names have changed. Cubans cannot expect freedom to come down from the hand of anyone as a gift. We have to do it ourselves, regardless of who we offend or who tries to interfere with our cause. Our cause is just and deserves our best efforts and if our friends want to stand with us,that is fine. If they want to interfere, then we should cast them aside and ignore them.

Robert I agree with that, and I don't know anyone who would condone blowing up civilian aircraft. The current political climate plays right into the regimes hands as far as men like Posada are concerned. He’s been tried and convicted in the world press. So far, I haven’t read anything that makes me believe that Posada is guilty. In fact, I think he’s being badly mistreated by the country he well served. I do believe that being in a state of war with the castro regime is legitimate, whether or not any official government sanctions that war. I don’t see how it can be otherwise unless you’re willing to cede to dictators the right to own and plunder a nation and its people however, they see fit. I cannot accept that.

Please place me on the team with Ziva and Cubamoto!!! Cuban's have the same right to be free as Americans, Spaniards, etc Any deals signed by the Kennedys and Moratinos of this world need not be respected by freedom loving Cubans.

We're talking about two different things here. One is whether Cubans should be allowed to plan military action to take down the regime as they once were not only allowed but encouraged to do. I would agree with that. I simply answered the question of whether that's possible now from a legal standpoint, which is no. Of course the illegality doesn't rule it out but it makes it much more difficult.

Then there's the issue of which tactics are acceptable from a societal standpoint. As a rule our society does not condone the intentional targeting of civilians. If Posada is guilty of the actions he's accused of in the hotel bombings and the Cubana bombing it's not something to be proud of. But just because there is smoke doesn't mean there is fire with regards to Posada and those actions. That's what trials are for. Posada didn't get a fair shake even though he spent 11 years in a Venezuelan prison. They could not convict him in that time which is far from a speedy trial that we are guaranteed in our system. Complicating matter is that the government of Venezuela is now in the hands of an ally of Castro. That would be like asking a murdered girl's brother to be the judge in the trial of the accused. That's the reason he can't be deported there (as he would be if there were any chance of getting an impartial hearing).

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