7 May 2002
Summary
Cuba's inclusion on a new list of countries suspected of seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction has more to do with other countries in Latin America than with Cuba itself. By taking a tougher line against Fidel Castro, the Bush administration seeks to bolster its foreign policy objectives in Colombia and Venezuela while simultaneously boosting support at home for the war against terrorism.
Analysis
The administration of U.S President George W. Bush lumped Cuba into its war on terrorism May 6 -- placing the country on a second-tier "axis of evil" list with Syria and Libya. The U.S. has accused Cuban leader Fidel Castro of trying to develop and distribute biological weapons. Otto Reich, assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere, said Bush has ordered his foreign policy team to review the policy tools that are available to "accelerate" the end of the Castro regime, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.
For the most part, the Bush administration has lacked a substantive foreign policy in Latin America. Any energy expended on the region was subsumed by Sept. 11 and the war against al Qaeda. Suddenly, however, Washington is setting its terrorism-fighting sights on Cuba and, by extension, the entire region. The question is: Why? And, more pertinently: Why now? The answer may ultimately lie at home.
Summary
Cuba's inclusion on a new list of countries suspected of seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction has more to do with other countries in Latin America than with Cuba itself. By taking a tougher line against Fidel Castro, the Bush administration seeks to bolster its foreign policy objectives in Colombia and Venezuela while simultaneously boosting support at home for the war against terrorism.
Analysis
The administration of U.S President George W. Bush lumped Cuba into its war on terrorism May 6 -- placing the country on a second-tier "axis of evil" list with Syria and Libya. The U.S. has accused Cuban leader Fidel Castro of trying to develop and distribute biological weapons. Otto Reich, assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere, said Bush has ordered his foreign policy team to review the policy tools that are available to "accelerate" the end of the Castro regime, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.
For the most part, the Bush administration has lacked a substantive foreign policy in Latin America. Any energy expended on the region was subsumed by Sept. 11 and the war against al Qaeda. Suddenly, however, Washington is setting its terrorism-fighting sights on Cuba and, by extension, the entire region. The question is: Why? And, more pertinently: Why now? The answer may ultimately lie at home.