This is an excellent editorial opposing asylum for Posada Carriles.
Reading this makes you wonder why they had no objection last
summer when three of Posada's terrorist henchmen re-entered
the United States of America. Their names were less well-known,
but they were terrorists also, yet the Herald had nothing to say
in their editorial columns then. What has changed since then?

One thing which has changed is that Fidel Castro has been
giving speeches about this night after night after night in Cuba,
focusing on Posada Carriles and his entrance into the US.

    --- Walter Lippmann, April 21, 2005

 


 

 


 

 
Editorials
Posted on Thu, Apr. 21, 2005

Zero tolerance for terrorism suspects


OUR OPINION: DENY ASYLUM TO ACCUSED BOMBER LUIS POSADA CARRILES

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11447619.htm

The United States must have zero tolerance for terrorists. If there was any doubt about this before Sept. 11, 2001, there is none today. This is just as true in Iraq, Israel or the United States. It's one of many reasons why Luis Posada Carriles, an anti-Castro militant with a long history of violence, shouldn't be granted refuge here.

Granting Mr. Posada asylum would violate U.S. asylum standards and damage our international standing in the war against terrorism. The lessons of 9/11 mustn't be forgotten: Violence targeting civilian populations cannot be justified no matter the cause.

Trained by the CIA

Like many other Cubans, Mr. Posada began his struggle against Fidel Castro soon after the revolutionary government began confiscating private property and taking repressive measures. He set off bombs in government buildings in the middle of the night, hoping to sow terror and oust Castro. Later in the 1960s, he was trained in demolition and espionage by the Central Intelligence Agency, which also wanted to encourage insurrection on the island.

Unlike most other anti-Castro Cubans, however, Mr. Posada never renounced armed struggle against the Castro regime. He stands accused of masterminding the 1976 midair bombing of a Cuban jetliner that killed 73 civilians; among them were Cuba's junior girls fencing squad, 11 Guyanese, five North Koreans, two Trinidadians, a Colombian and a Venezuelan. He also took responsibility for placing bombs at tourist sites in Cuba in 1997, including one in which an Italian tourist was killed -- an admission that Mr. Posada later recanted.

His past activities provide ample reason to believe that Mr. Posada has committed serious crimes abroad, which requires that he be denied asylum. Prudence, moreover, demands that he be detained while his case is being considered. Yet he shouldn't be sent to Cuba or Venezuela, which would violate U.S. treaty obligations against returning people to countries where they would face summary execution. If the U.S. government is serious about rooting out terrorists worldwide, it mustn't let Mr. Posada set up shop here.

No excuses

Some people admire Mr. Posada for his unceasing efforts to wrench Castro from power. After all, Castro has summarily executed thousands of Cubans and committed countless acts of terrorism against his own people and others in Latin America.

We, too, want Cuba freed of Castro and his dictatorship. But coddling or encouraging those who sow terror and kill civilians isn't the answer.

Those are Castro's means and the means of other Cuban dictators before him. Such violence doesn't bring peace, much less democracy or the rule of law -- only more violence. Being sympathetic to Mr. Posada's goals is no reason to excuse his terrorist past.

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