The Washington Post: Cuba poses no threat

Taken from the Prensa Latina news agency (Jan. 5, 2010)

Washington, Jan. 5 (Prensa Latina) — The Washington Post, one of the most prestigious newspapers in the U.S., denies in an article published Tuesday that Cuba poses a threat to U.S. national security.

A column written by 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene Robinson rejects the idea of including the Caribbean nation in the list of countries whose travelers need to be thoroughly checked at U.S. airports.

Robinson makes reference to the U.S. Department of State’s decision to toughen security measures with travelers from the island and another 15 states considered unstable or sponsors of terrorism.

Cuba poses no terror threat. Cuba is not a failed state with territories out of governmental control. The idea that a Cuban citizen could get explosive artifacts or have terror accessories of any kind in the island is simply ridiculous, the Washington Post journalist wrote.

Cuba is one of the last places on Earth where Al Qaida would try to establish a group and even less try to launch a terror attack, Robinson said.

Using examples of this nature, he slammed the Obama government for its hesitant stance towards the Cuba issue, and rejected the sustained U.S. embargo on Cuba and its travel bans.

He concludes his column by saying, “But it’s difficult for me to believe that Obama fails to see how insane our current policy really is. He needs to change it — and he can begin by ceasing to pretend that looking for al-Qaeda terrorists on flights from Cuba is anything but a big waste of time.”

T o read the full version of the Washington Post article, go to: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/01/04/ST2010010402766.html?sid=ST2010010402766