The late great U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) once said "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Saul Landau's hard hitting, eye opening, and compelling factual documentary, Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up, brings to the forefront a historical account of the tortured relationship between the United States and Cuba. Equally disconcerting is the apparent complicity and double standards of our own government's actions with respect to Cuba when applied to the notions of terrorism. Even Former Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, Col Lawrence Wilkerson USA Ret, calls the film, "Clearly shown and vividly documented the fact that the United States sponsors terrorism."
Highlighting the case of the Cuban 5, Landau presents in the words of the actual players and historical figures, how these five Cuban agents came to the United States to protect their own country from terrorist acts and plots of violent Cuban exiles who acted with impunity and disregard for innocent life and property both here in the U.S. and Cuba. One conclusion you draw from watching the historical events is the understanding that these kinds of acts and violence do not lend themselves to democracy or human rights. These warped sense of values and hypocrisy are an unfortunate part and parcel of our U.S. Cuba policy. When our government was presented evidence of the U.S. based terrorism from South Florida, the Cuban five were arrested while those involved in the violent activities still walk free to this day!
The five men, who are considered heroes in Cuba, faced their trials in Miami under considerable questions of legal fairness and received the stiffest sentences for their convictions. Now the five remain as another human stumbling block for improved relations between the United States and Cuba. There is a worldwide campaign now calling for the Presidential pardon or commutation and release of the five men. One of the five who has already served his term of incarceration, Rene Gonzalez, is currently being forced to remain in the United States to serve out his probation term of three years.
The documentary should be mandatory viewing by journalists and anyone interested in the subject of U.S. Cuba relations and history. The documentary DVD is available for sale and can also be watched on-demand online on Amazon.com. Buy one copy and send one to your Congressman and Senators too. The White House, State Department Cuba Desk and Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and all of Capitol Hill should watch this important documentary.
Posts
0 Comments:
Post a Comment