by Gerry Condon from AntiWar
Veterans For Peace has issued a strong condemnation of Marco Rubio’s McCarthyite report, Cuba, the Capital of 21st Century Communism, which was released by the State Department on July 20. The 100-page document
charges Cuba with interfering in the internal affairs of the United
States, while accusing U.S. peace and solidarity activists of being
foreign agents of Cuba.
“Talk about turning things on their head,” responded
Veterans For Peace. “It is the U.S. that has waged an economic war
against Cuba for 64 years with a blockade that prevents it from normal
trade relations with the U.S. and other countries, stunts its economic
development, and denies it access to medicines and other essentials.
“It is the U.S. CIA that organized a failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961,
setting the stage for the 1962 Cuban missile crisis that almost led to a
nuclear war. It is the U.S. that is currently enforcing a deadly oil
embargo on Cuba, and it is the U.S. president and secretary of state who
are openly threatening a U.S. military invasion of Cuba. What has Cuba
ever done to the U.S.? Cuba is being punished for declaring its
independence from U.S. imperialism and for attempting to develop a
socialist economic model that is not based on exploitation and
profiteering.
“We reject the Trump administration’s sudden return to “anti-communism” as
a means of undermining the credibility of its political opponents —
whether from the Democratic Party or actual left-wing organizations. If
this is an attempt to intimidate those who are organizing for a just and
peaceful world, it will not work. We will not be intimidated. If
Trump’s and Rubio’s sudden obsession with “communists” and “political
terrorists” is telegraphing their intention for a clampdown on dissent
in the U.S., we take this very seriously.
“As veterans and active duty military, we swore an oath to
“defend the U.S. Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
We take this oath very seriously — more so than ever as the domestic
enemies of our democracy ominously rear their ugly heads. We will
resist.
“Veterans For Peace will not be intimidated. We
stand in solidarity with Cuba and with all those who struggle for human
rights and democracy in the U.S. We will support active-duty military
members who refuse to participate in an illegal invasion of Cuba. We
also encourage service members to refuse illegal orders to support
racist ICE raids or to suppress our First Amendment rights to freedom of
speech and assembly in the U.S.”
Veterans For Peace calls for an end to the 64-year-old US blockade of
Cuba, and end to threats against dissent in the U.S., for the abolition
of ICE and the release of all who are being held in ICE prisons.