A
Reflection On Hard And
Obvious Realities
By Fidel Castro
07 August, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Because of its importance, I
am prioritizing this subject, among others.
I am not going to deny that
the prerogatives of power, whether real, relative or fictitious, have
an influence on human beings, because they were all educated this way,
right from the remotest of times of the species.
I did not arrive in just
a minute at what I am thinking today about power, but I consider that
this is a matter of consistent thinking. I attribute the modest contribution
of our Revolution to the fact that our responses to questions have never
regressed, despite the harsh reality imposed upon us by the empire’s
brutal blockade.
In the reflection published
on July 31st, I explained what it meant for me to have spent a year
gathering information and meditating in depth on the vital problems
which today threaten our species as never before.
On July 24th , the Russian
news agency Ria Novosti published the following information:
Colonel General Leonid
Ivashov, a defense expert, stated that the main instrument of the US
policy is the economic, financial, technological and military dictate.
By implementing this,
the US is trying to secure the world’s hegemony for itself. Its
national security strategy explicitly indicates the necessity of guaranteeing
sustainable access, in other words, controlled access, to the key regions
of the planet, strategic communications and global resources. It is
a strategy that has been turned into a law, and this brings us to the
conclusion that in the future the United States will face even tougher
conflicts with Russia, China and India.
Washington insists on
building a system capable of neutralizing the nuclear potential of Moscow
and Peking, its strategic rivals, in order to achieve military superiority.
The United States wants to deploy its anti-missile shield not just in
Europe but also in other parts of the world, to see what is going on
in Russia and China. Likewise, it is seeking to increase its offensive
arsenal at a pace that surpasses even that which was followed during
the Cold War.
After the collapse of
the Soviet Union, NATO lost the status it had as a defensive organization
when it was founded in 1949, and was transformed into a powerful and
aggressive instrument at the service of the world oligarchy, eager to
dominate the world. The new strategic concept of the Alliance, approved
on April 1999 as a result of the efforts made by the United States,
comprises new functions and expands its sphere of responsibilities to
include the entire world, not just the North Atlantic. The current Secretary
General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, frequently visits Australia,
New Zealand and Japan. The Alliance has started to ignore International
Law and the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, the United States promotes
the expansion of NATO and refuses to ratify the Treaty on Conventional
Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), taking on the right to act outside of
any limitations and disposing of troops as it wishes.
The United States would
do anything in its power to prevent Russia from being an autonomous
player. The debates on anti-missile defence, Iran and Kosovo, have not
generated any formulas for compromise.
It is important for
Russia to consolidate its positions and recover its geopolitical potential.
Early on the 1970’s, when Moscow had achieved nuclear parity with
Washington, the latter became aware of the fact that it could not beat
Moscow militarily and accepted to negotiate on equal terms. Consequently,
in 1972, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT) as well as all other
subsequent Strategic Arms Limitations Treaties (SALT) were signed. Strength
is the only thing that the United States cares about. If it feels to
be in a stronger position, it will never make concessions to anyone.
In order to neutralize
the plans for world hegemony it is necessary to build an alternative
pole, and we already have the foundations to do so: the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO).
In fact, it appears
to be rather incorrect to speak about the United States strength. The
United States has military power, a vigorous economy and an enormous
amount of hard currency which it can mint in unlimited quantities, but
the geopolitical level of the country is extremely low. The United States
inspires very little political confidence in the rest of the world.
In 1999, China and Russia
stated before the UN General Assembly the need to preserve the Anti
Missile Defense Treaty of 1972. All nations voted in favour of the proposal
except for four: the United States, Israel, Albania and Micronesia.
The result bears witness to the United States’ total international
isolation.
Without the participation
of Russia, it would be impossible to resolve the situation that has
taken shape in the Middle East, the Balkans, the Korean Peninsula and
other regions of this planet. This also holds true for China, which
is able to put up to the pressures exerted by the United States. China
enjoys great prestige in the world; it has a powerful economy and a
strong currency.
The SCO ought to recruit
new allies and combine the potential of those countries which want to
and are capable of implementing an autonomous policy. First, it is necessary
to officially proclaim the rejection against the United States world
hegemony. Second, China and Russia must denounce the deployment of the
US anti-missile defense system before the UN Security Council, as an
action altering the architecture of global security and threatening
the entire international community. China, India and Russia could form
a united front in the face of the United States’ dictates. It
is also possible to propose the stabilization of the global financial
system as a task. Within the SCO framework, a novel philosophy could
be formulated, based on the harmony among civilizations and on the rational
use of natural resources. The majority of States will surely support
such measures, of that I am convinced. Thus, a new political pole will
come into being, the pole of peace. The SCO mission is to create a new
model of development for human civilization.
Only an alliance of
civilizations could oppose the United States’ empire: the Russian
civilization whose orbit includes the Community of Independent States
(CIS); the Chinese, the Indian, the Islamic and the Latin American civilizations.
It is an immense space where we could create more equitable markets,
our own stable financial system, our collective security mechanisms
and our philosophy, giving priority to the intellectual development
of man in the face of western modern civilization, which emphasizes
material goods, and measures success by the amounts of mansions, yachts
and restaurants people have. Our mission is to reorient the world towards
justice and intellectual and spiritual growth.
So much for Ivashov’s
essential thoughts, as published by Ria Novosti.
We have been able to find
out that General Leonid Ivashov is Vice President of the Academy on
Geopolitical Affairs; he was Secretary of the Council of Defence Ministers
of the Community of Independent States (CIS) and Chief of the Military
Cooperation Department at the Russian Federation Ministry of Defence.
On September 11, 2001, the day when the tragic events in New York occurred,
which served as a pretext to define the basis of the genocidal policy
of the United States almost 6 years ago, General Ivashov was the Chief
of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. He is a truly well-informed man.
It is worthwhile that our people know about his views.
The concern which the Cuban
Revolution has always had about the education of the people is obvious.
Judging by my own experience, I soon came across the idea that only
conscience could prevail over the instincts that govern us. Technological
advances today speak of the possibility of manipulating the functions
of the cells in the human brain. What good would all this do in a world
ruled by the commercial value of goods and services? Who will have the
final say in this regard? By this means and through the shameless brain
drain, a phenomenon we should adamantly continue to discuss, the most
valuable part of the human being could be destroyed: a human being's
education via its conscience.
Laboratories can produce
medicines to save lives, which could be something of great social value
provided such products are available to all. But laboratories are also
manufacturing all kinds of weapons that could put an end to human life.
Commercial advertising and
consumerism are incompatible with the survival of the species. After
all possible calculations, you will realize that natural resources,
space, climate, weather, and the system cannot yield any other outcome,
given their pace and the direction in which they are moving.
Fidel Castro Ruz
August 3, 2007.
7:15 p.m.
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