It is the Cuban government, not the American, that publishes a pamphlet called Military Games for Pioneers , which teaches Eli n's classmates how to attack bridges, lay mines, murder sentries, and throw hand grenades through windows. But parents such as Eli n's are not allowed to object to the indoctrination and arming of their children. This ought to resolve rather starkly the degree to which Greg Craig is Juan Miguel Gonz lez's lawyer and the degree to which he is Fidel Castro's. President Clinton has lately taken to traveling the world apologizing for American collusion with authoritarian regimes. This little obsession has more and more the look of a hobby and less the look of moral resolution.
Apologies are promises.
Ultimately, the Eli n case is a battle over whether we take Communist dictatorship seriously enough to protect refugees in our nation who are threatened by it. Our answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. The Miamians who are surrounding Eli n's house, the Cuban-American community organizers who urge widespread civil disobedience should federal authorities seek to remove him, and even those local elected officials who say they will refuse to cooperate with those same authorities, have our support. They are protecting more than Eli n. They are protecting their country from a historic disgrace.