Just when everyone thought communism was dead, America finds yet another communist mole imbedded in the U.S. security establishment. This time it was at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Three days after the Sept. 11 terrorist assault on America a Cuban agent, planted deep within the DIA, used a pay phone to communicate with her controllers. The calls were placed by senior DIA analyst Ana Belen Montes, and they were traced by U.S. counter-intelligence.
Washington has been penetrated at many levels, and not only by the Cubans. In recent years we have seen the unmasking of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, both of whom worked for Russia (the country that trained Cuba's secret service, introducing the Cubans to various Middle East terrorist factions).
The continued existence and coordination of communist countries ought to be understood by all Americans, as part of their political ABCs. Like the typical "rogue state," Cuba was long supported by the "communist bloc," which supposedly no longer exists. But in reality, this bloc continues under various guises. U.S. Government officials don't like to admit the ongoing danger from communist states, but the danger is very real. Even now President Bush and his advisors continually deceive themselves about Russia and China. They dismiss the significance of Russia's alliance with China. They refuse to see that Cuba is an integral part of this picture -- along with North Korea, Iraq, Vietnam, Syria, Iran and former Warsaw Pact countries that now pretend to be democracies allied to the West.
Russia assists a wide network of terrorist groups. Japan's Aum Shinri Kyo sect, who perpetrated a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1993, were trained in Russia by "criminal" operatives supposedly unconnected with the Russian state. But Westerners should not be so naive as to accept the Kremlin's plausible deniability in such matters. At a conference on Korea at Texas A&M in April, an atomic energy official told me that Russia had recently assisted North Korea in developing nuclear technology. Indeed, Russia remains an important hand of help for North Korea, Iran, Iraq, communist Vietnam and the communist states of Africa. Taking in this larger picture we can see that Cuba is merely another outpost in Moscow's anti-American alliance, and despite promises of closing down Russia's spy base in Cuba, the Kremlin has renewed its relationship with Castro. The only reason for closing the base is that further credits and technology from the West will be facilitated by the shut-down, and these credits will be used to further strengthen the military power of the Russian bloc.
The magically disappearing Cold War foe is a myth and Cuba's penetration of America's Defense Intelligence Agency should surprise nobody. The link between Russia and Cuba cannot be denied, just as the link between Arab terrorists and Cuba cannot be denied. In the event of the World War III, Cuba has long been slated to play a critical role on the Russian side.
A decade ago I interviewed a smuggler who sometimes worked with the Cuban intelligence service. With a gun lying on the table between us, he spoke of his drinking buddies from Havana. He then looked out the window at rows of houses and apartments in Orange County, California. "One day these people will be caught up and destroyed," he said.
He also mentioned the ease with which politicians and local businessmen were corrupted and made use of by Cuban intelligence. "The Americans have no idea what is in store," he explained.
Last May 10th Fidel Castro, the communist dictator of Cuba, visited Iran and spoke before a cheering crowd of Muslims. "Together we will bring America to its knees," he declared. Martin Arostegui of Insight Magazine characterized Castro's May 10 speech as "apocalyptic." It would be more accurate, however, to call it "strategically illuminating."
Why bring America to it's knees?
Saddam Hussein once told his top nuclear scientist, "Just give me the bomb and I will avenge the centuries of wrong." And what does this butcher of his own people know about "centuries of wrong"?
Imagined grievances fuel the machinery of global destruction. Imagined grievances fuel the hate of Fidel Castro. Some in the U.S. intelligence community suspect that Cuba enabled the Sept. 11 attacks on America, that information from Cuba's agent inside the DIA was transmitted to the Islamists. Back in May Castro told his Iranian listeners: "America is weak. I have studied its weaknesses from close by. I tell you, the imperialist king will finally fall."
What does Castro know that we don't?
Well, in the first place, he understands that American intelligence is very poor, that America is penetrated by communist agents at all levels and that Russia and China -- the core of the old communist bloc -- is now firmly united and secretly coordinated. All of this is obvious, yet the American media and establishment refuse to see the writing on the wall. If Sept. 11 was a wakeup call, America simply rolled over and went back to sleep. The real significance of the Islamist terror, taken in full context, is that a larger set of countries -- intent on bringing America to its knees -- may have secretly supported the attacks.
Did you know that Mohammed Atta, one of the chiefs of the Sept. 11 attacks, met secretly with Cuban agents last year? And did you know that Cuba has an advanced biological warfare project which is managed by Russian-trained scientists?
Communist countries, such as Cuba, are guided by an ideology that demonizes America and seeks the destruction of the United States. Americans often forget that there is a massive terrorist war going on in Colombia, where Cuba lends its support to communist rebels. The bombings, assassinations and other killings in Colombia are notorious. The fact that these activities are financed by drug trafficking, just as they are in Afghanistan, should also not come as a surprise.
Perhaps it was missed by many observers at the time, but Cuba increased its military readiness in September, after the attack on the Twin Towers. To keep up appearances Fidel Castro pretended to be shocked about the Sept. 11 attacks, but it wasn't long before he began denouncing the United States.
Castro's great friend and admirer, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has shown that his sympathies also lie with the terrorists and not with their American victims. Having allied himself with Russia and China, Chavez is clearly part of the terrorist camp. On Oct. 13 the New York Times reported that Chavez's government does not regard Carlos "the Jackal" as a terrorist. During a European tour Chavez even lobbied for the rights of assassins.
One of the most important things for Americans is to know who their enemies are, especially when our country has come under attack.
