Soldiers guide media on tour of facility that overlooks U.S. base TRACEY EATON Cuba Bureau Published: September 12, 2002 GUANTÁNAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - From a hilltop overlooking the American naval base holding suspected Taliban fighters, a Cuban general Wednesday rejected U.S. contentions that his country supports international terrorists."Cuba doesn't sponsor terrorism," Gen. Jose Solar told reporters. "The terrorist bands are in Miami."Cuba is one of seven countries on the State Department's annual terrorist watch list. American officials say Fidel Castro provides sanctuary to suspected terrorists from Spain and other nations.Mr. Castro has denied backing terrorism and on Wednesday, the anniversary of the Sept.11 attacks on the United States, soldiers escorted journalists through a Cuban base in Guantánamo.From Picote, a Cuban lookout point 620 feet above Guantánamo Bay, the American flag could be seen on a hilltop at the U.S. naval base, nicknamed Gitmo."Why's the flag at half-mast?" a Russian journalist asked."It's a day of mourning for the Americans," the general explained."I forgot," the Russian said. "It's Sept. 11."Cuban officials remembered and took advantage of the moment to reiterate their stance against terrorism.Cubans have complained for more than 40 years that the U.S. government hasn't done enough to stop anti-Castro exile groups in Miami from staging violent attacks against the island.The base is a fitting reminder of the Cold War. Miles of barbed wire and thousands of land mines have been placed between U.S.-controlled and Cuban territory, although it isn't exactly a no-man's land, Gen. Solar said."It's our land," he said, adding that he hopes his country's Revolutionary Armed Forces will be able to peacefully regain it one day.Gitmo has been under U.S. control since 1903 and is America's oldest overseas naval base. It once employed hundreds of Cubans, but most were dismissed after U.S.-Cuba relations crumbled in the early 1960s.Mr. Castro didn't object when Taliban prisoners began arriving six months ago. American diplomats say that is part of a "charm offensive" aimed at persuading the United States to lift its longtime ban on trade withCuba.Castro loyalists say they're sincere, they oppose terrorism and they're willing to cooperate with the United States."What we want is peace," said Gen. Solar, second-in-command for troops in eastern Cuba. "We're victims of terrorism, not terrorists." |