The report notes that the bunker construction was carried out throughout the 1990s despite severe economic problems facing Mr. Castro's communist government. Mr. Castro knows some of his bunkered military units would be trapped in the concrete-lined tunnels during U.S. airstrikes. The underground bunkers and tunnels were built with the help of some expert tunnelers the Vietnamese, North Koreans and former Soviets, the report says. Placement and design of the command posts especially their use of concealment, hardening, and camouflage techniques are intended to raise the cost of military operations against the island as high as possible for any attacking force.
Vegetation is used to obscure most entrances.
However, the facilities are not sealed against chemical or biological weapons, the report said. The DIA has identified more than 400 bunkers in Cuba under construction or completed, including underground facilities for the Armed Forces Ministry headquarters, the Interior Ministry headquarters, Communications Ministry headquarters, and the Cuban Communist Party headquarters. Most are 60 feet below ground, and several are up to 180 feet below ground. West Point and the Naval Academy bowed instead to a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed official prayer at high school football games, citing the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of religion. The decision to scotch prayer before the nationally televised game in Baltimore is not sitting well with religious conservatives.