Evening star., 1962-09-12
Costro's Champion


so-to read that our officials and
statesmen are not frightened" by Mr..
Khrushchev's warning against an at
tack on Cuba by the United States.
Perhaps these officials are right.
Mr.. KhruShchev may be bluffing. Pos
sibly he is setting up straw man Just
for the fun, not to mention the propa-
ganda value, Of knocking him down.
Especially so If he is quite certain that
the United States is not planning to
attack Cuba. Still, the threat is there,
and our hasty official reactions may
take too much for granted in so blithely
brushing 1t aside.
One thing is certain-the record Of
Cuban-American judgments respecting
Castro and communism is filled with
tragic errors
1t was only four years ago, though
1t seems like decade, since the "best
people" in Havana were clamoring for
the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.
They said he was an iron-fisted dicta-
tor who had trampled on the liberties Of
the then-pDSperous Cuban people. And
perhaps he was. But where today are
those Cubans who signed the anti
BatiSta manifesto-the university pro-
fesSorS, lawyers, doctors, architects,
journalists, religious and civic leaders?
They have been ground down under
an oppression such as they never
dreamed of when Dictator Batista was
all they had to fear. There are no such
manifeStoes being circulated in Havana
today. The Castro firing squads have
seen to that. And where are our own
eminent journalists, televiSion commen-
BatiSta and cheered for Castro four
years ago?
The point is, we think, that the
United States today cannot afford to
make any more errors Of judgment with
respect to Castro's Cuba. Mr.. Khru-
shchev may or may not be bluffing.
But the price and the hazards of doing
something" about Cuba now are GER
tainly much greater than they were
four years ago. Still, for the sake of
the record, some things should be put
straight.
We do not think 1t is true that a
"clear issue" has arisen in Cuba over
which we should go to war at this time.
1t Is not true that weakness and vacil-
lation now on the part of the United
States may lead to war, as in 1914 and
1889. Prior to those two World Wars
the United States, in a relative sense,
was militarily very weak. Today we are
tremendously strong. Furthermore, in
contrast to 1914 and 1899, we now have
formal treaty commitments to 90 to
the aid Of our allies If they should be
attacked by the Communists. We think
the Kennedy administration, terrible
though the consequences may be, will
honor those commitments. And we
think that Mr.. Khrushchev also believes
this to be the fact
If this is correct, it follows that
the problem of Cuba should be kept in
proper perspective. So far, Mr.. Khru-
shchev seems to be doing in Cuba about
what we have done in South Vietnam
Turkey, Iran, etc. He is (or says he is)
sending in military equipment and tech
nicians to help Cuba build its defenses
This, of course, may be semantic cover
up for program designed to establish
a really dangerous Communist beach
head in Cuba. But we do not think this
has happened yet, and our intelligence
system in Cuba certainly should be ef-
ficient enough to keep us from being
caught again doing at the switch.
In year or two years from now we
may have to move in with American
forces and smash Communist bulldog
in Cuba. If so, it will be harder and
costlier then than now, and it certainly
will be much harder than If the PreSi.
dent, for whatever reason, had not
faltered and Cancelled the air support
for the abortive invasion of Cuba ir
April, 1861. But no clamorous calls fol
ill-defined action" now, no ringing
speeches about Monroe Doctrine which
hardly can have the meaning in 1867
that it had in 1928, should be permitted
to stampede this country or President
Kennedy into any miSconceived OF
poorly executed Cuban venture at this
time
One of the most sensible comments
we have read recently came from Ken
tucky's Senator Cooper. He said: What
ever the Government does with respect
to this dangerous situation must be
done, not as a gambit, but as careful
policy which we are fully prepared to
follow up" In other words, no phony
heroics, please. Let's not blockade