Panelists:
Glenn Baker
Ambassador James R. Jones
Cynthia McClintock, chairperson
Robert L. Muse
Wayne S. Smith
Jonathan B. Tucker

CONFERENCE SUMMARY

The October 21st conference, co-hosted by the Center for International Policy and the Center for Defense Information, was a huge success. Participants included representatives from the media, foreign embassies, academia, business and legal community, non-profit organizations, and staff members from Congressional offices.

Introductory remarks were given by Wayne S. Smith, a Senior Fellow at CIP and a former Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. As Smith outlined, Cuba's placement on the terrorist list was based on misconstrued evidence from the beginning. Cuba first appeared on the U.S. List of State Sponsors of Terrorism in March of 1982 due to its alleged support for the FMLN in El Salvador. However, as Smith pointed out, he had been Chief of the U.S. Interests Section at that point. A few weeks earlier, the Cubans had asserted to him that they had suspended all arms shipments to Central America and that they hoped this gesture would improve the atmosphere for a dialogue, not only in Central America but between out two countries. Smith had asked the State Department if the U.S. had evidence to the contrary, i.e., that Cuba was continuing to ship arms. If we did not, he recommended, perhaps we should take this as a serious gesture and begin a dialogue. The answer he received was that we did not have concrete evidence to the contrary, but that we were not interested in a dialogue even so. As Smith noted, the U.S. therefore put Cuba on the list on false charges.

The remainder of the conference was dedicated to the discussion of Cuba today and it's position on terrorism. A panel of experts helped to demonstrate that the reasons barring Cuba's removal from the terrorist list are inaccurate, or at the very least, misrepresentations of the facts.

Is Cuba developing biological weapons?

On May 6th 2002, Undersecretary of State John Bolton, stated that Cuba "is developing a limited biological weapons effort", a charge he repeated on March 30 of this year. However, conference panelists emphasized the lack of evidence for this.

Glenn Baker, from the Center for Defense Information, has been through Cuban bio-tech facilities 13 times and has never found any weapons of mass destruction. While his investigations were not official weapons inspections, their findings were significant and the report was widely accepted. Baker emphasized that he could not state categorically that there was no such effort in Cuba. He had not, after all, visited every square foot of Cuban territory. What he could say was that he had encountered impressive transparency on the part of the Cubans. They had invited his teams to visit any site they wished. All doors had been open and he had seen no evidence at all of such a weapons developmental effort.

Baker and his research team were welcomed at each biotech facility and given permission to visit all parts of the facilities. These investigations confirmed that the Cuban biotech industry is motivated by concerns for public health. Cuba is widely considered a leader in tropical disease research and the development of vaccines. Cuba's pharmaceutical industry produces the world's only experimental cancer vaccines and hepatitis B vaccine. Baker and his team felt confident that people were not "coding" their speech or trying to hide anything. Baker pointed out that most countries with pharmaceutical production have the ability to produce bio-weapons.

Jonathan Tucker of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (Monterey Institute of International Studies) was a bio-weapons inspector in Iraq and has also visited biotech facilities in Cuba. Tucker confirmed Baker's conclusions and description of Cuba's pharmaceutical industry. Next, he responded to the claim that Cuba has transferred biotech to other rogue states. The kernel of truth in this allegation, Tucker explained, is found in the fact that Cuba did sell the hepatitis B vaccine, among others, to Iran. One concern is the possible dual-use of the biotechnology. However, it is important to note that Iran could have gotten the vaccines from other sources that may not have acted as responsibly as Cuba has. After all, Cuba says they are developing biotechnology for the betterment of society, they are a member of the biotech convention, and they have made the transfers in a transparent manner.

Both Glenn Baker and Jonathan Tucker agreed that the best way to dispel doubts and to verify the truth would be to allow for greater exchange between scientists and doctors. An increased dialogue among the experts in the field is the most effective method to prevent the misuse of biotechnology.

Is Cuba harboring international terrorists and fugitives from U.S. justice?

The next two panelists exposed the irony in the fact that Cuba is not "harboring" terrorists, but the United States is! Robert Muse, an attorney seasoned in the field of international law, approached the question by explaining that the State Department gives three reasons to have Cuba on the terrorist list: Cuba endorses terrorism as a policy, it harbors some Spanish and Colombian terrorists, and it hosts dozens of fugitives from US justice. Muse explained that if Cuba's placement on the list were legally justified, there would be proof of this. There is not.

The state department has claimed Cuba is harboring American fugitives. However they are not terrorists. As Muse pointed out, many are fugitives from petty crimes such as fraud. Out of the total number of US fugitives in Cuba, not more than eight can be considered political criminals. Those who fall under this category probably would not be extradited in any event since crimes of a political nature are normally excluded from the extradition process. That certainly was the case under the old US-Cuban extradition treaty.

Muse also focused on the reciprocal nature of this issue. Since early January of 1959, Cuba has sought the extradition of fugitives living on American soil. More recently, Castro has requested the return of the hijackers responsible for the 1976 downing of the Cuban airliner near Venezuela. One of them, Orlando Bosch, was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush and currently resides in Miami. Another such character, Luis Posada Cariles, acknowledged that he directed the bombings of Havana hotels, but the U.S. did not investigate this or make any move to expel him. Recently, the US welcomed a new group of Cuban exile terrorists, Gaspar Jimenez, Pedro Remon, and Guillermo Novo, to Miami after they were pardoned under highly questionable circumstances by Panama's outgoing President Mireya Moscoso.

Next, Wayne Smith addressed the accusation that Cuba is harboring members of the ETA, ELN, and FARC. There are ETA members in Cuba. However, the Spanish government approves. It is also true that there are ELN and FARQ members on Cuban soil. However, they are not engaged in any terrorist activities and Colombia continuously states that Cuba is aiding with the peace process in Columbia. A country can be accused of "harboring terrorists" if it is providing residency for terrorists against the will of another country. The evidence put forth by Wayne Smith and Bob Muse show this is clearly not the case with Cuba.

Does Cuba in fact endorse terrorism as a tactic?

Wayne Smith said that Cuba does not endorse terrorism as a policy or tactic. On the contrary, Castro has several times after 9/11 categorically denounced terrorism in all its forms.

Undersecretary of State Bolton claims that Cuba supports terrorism as a tactic and falsely quotes Castro as having said during a visit to Iran that "Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with one another, can bring America to its knees". Castro never said this. It does not appear in any transcript of his remarks. It appeared in an Agence France Presse (AFP) story, but AFP was unable to explain were the quote came from.

Cuba has signed all twelve of the UN treaties against terrorism and has offered to sign an agreement for drug interdiction efforts, illegal immigration, and combating terrorism with the U.S. The U.S. demurred.

James R. Jones, former Ambassador to Mexico, former Congressman from Oklahoma, and chairman of the Center for National Policy's commission to review US-Cuba policy, stated that there is no credible evidence to prove the accusation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Ambassador Jones confirmed the other panelists' assertions that US-Cuba policy needs to be characterized by a principle engagement on all issues. He added that if we want to export democracy and US values, it is important to remember and to practice the value of truth. Ambassador Jones explained that a nation's credibility affects its ability to form allies and to achieve its objectives. Criticizing a government without sufficient proof is detrimental to the US in the long run.