DOCSLIB.ORG

ARCHIVES Submitted to the Department of Political Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ARCHIVES Submitted to the Department of Political Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Of Fighting for Control: State-Sponsored Terrorism as Foreign Policy in Cuba and Libya, 1959-2010 by John David Payne OFT L B.A., Brigham Young University (1999) M.A., Brigham Young University (2000) ARCHIVES Submitted to the Department of Political Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY September 2011 (c) 2011 John David Payne. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT ssion to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copi this the *sdocument in whole part in any medium now kno or hereafter cre . Signature of Author: U Department of Political Science / 7 September 12, 2011 Certified by: Stephen W. Van Evera Ford International Professor of Political Science Accepted by: Roger D. Petersen Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science Chairman, Graduate Program Committee 7 Fighting for Control: State-Sponsored Terrorism as Foreign Policy in Cuba and Libya, 1959-2010 by John David Payne Submitted to the Department of Political Science on August 30, 2011, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science. Abstract In this dissertation, I ask four inter-related questions about state-sponsored terrorism. First, under what conditions do states choose to support foreign terrorist groups? Second, when do sponsor states stop supporting terrorism? Third, how can states which are the targets of terrorism best persuade sponsor states to cease their support? Fourth, how can sponsor states best avoid being held accountable for the actions of their terrorist agents? Building on Byman and Kreps' theoretical model of state-sponsored terrorism as a principal-agent relationship, I propose four hypotheses to answer these questions. First, states sponsor terrorism because they meet three necessary conditions: motivations for conflict, constraints against open conflict, and a perceived lack of accountability. Second, states cease supporting terrorism when any of these conditions changes. Third, states that are the targets of state-sponsored terrorism can best persuade state sponsors to change their behavior by holding them accountable for the actions of their terrorist agents. Fourth, states that sponsor terrorism will be more likely to avoid accountability if they sacrifice both control over their terrorist agents and credit for their agents' successes. These hypothesized answers are tested by examining two in-depth case studies of state- sponsored terrorism, Libya and Cuba during the Cold War. The evidence from these cases is generally congruent with the four hypotheses, with the first and second hypotheses demonstrating the best fit. The cases also yield five prescriptions for policy makers. First, economic sanctions may be more effective than military action at holding sponsor states accountable for the actions of their terrorist agents. Second, multilateral diplomatic and economic sanctions may be more effective than unilateral sanctions, although a single state may be capable of spearheading a successful international policy response. Third, the sponsor state's peers are crucially important in determining the success of target states' efforts. Fourth, better relations with sponsor states mean better leverage. Fifth, politicized application of the labels 'terrorist' and 'state sponsor' robs the terms of their condemnatory power and decreases their utility as rhetorical weapons. States that follow these prescriptions may be successful in persuading state sponsors to cease their sponsorship. Thesis supervisor: Stephen W. Van Evera Title: Ford International Professor of Political Science 4 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................... Chapter ONE THE PROBLEM OF TERRORISM AND STATE SUPPORT .9 W hat is terrorism ? ......................... ... 10 Effects and causes of terrorism .................. 16 The impact of state sponsorship ................. 22 What is state-sponsored terrorism? ... .......... .. 28 Why do states support terrorism? ............. .. 33 C onclusion ................................. 39 TWO HYPOTHESES ON STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM .. Delegation and terrorism ....................... M otivations for conflict ....................... Constraints against direct conflict ................ Lack of accountability ........................ Three necessary conditions ..................... C onclusion ................................. THREE CUBA, REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISM, AND THE AMERICAN AND SOVIET RESPONSE, 1959-2010 . ........... Modeling state-sponsored terrorism . ... ........... Cuban motivations for conflict ........ ........... Cuba - constrained against conflict ..... Cuba - unaccountable ............... Case study Cuba, 1959-1963 ............. 78 Cuba, 1964-1967 ............. 92 Cuba, 1967-1974 ............. 100 Cuba, 1975-1985 ............. 111 Cuba, 1986-1993 ............. 121 Cuba, 1994-2010 ............. 125 Case analysis and evaluation of the theory 126 Conclusion ....................... 129 FOUR LIBYA, INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, 1969-2010 ............... 133 Terrorism, delegation, and accountability . .134 Libya: Motivated towards conflict ...... 136 Libya: Frustrating constraints ... .. .. .. ... .. ... .. ... .. 14 5 Libya: Perception of unaccountability ........................ 153 Case overview .......................................... 155 Libya and terrorism, 1969-1971 ....................... 156 Libya and terrorism, 1972-1978 ....................... 158 Libya and terrorism, 1979-1987 ....................... 167 Libya and terrorism, 1987-1993 ....................... 180 Libya and terrorism, 1994-2000 ....................... 182 Libya and terrorism, 2001-2010 ....................... 186 Case analysis and evaluation of the theory ..................... 190 Conclusion ............................................ 193 FIVE ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS ................................ 197 Revisiting theoretical hypotheses ............................ 198 Evaluating from the evidence ............................... 201 Generalizing to other cases ................................. 209 Lessons for policym akers .................................. 213 Conclusions ............................................ 217 BIBLIO G RA PH Y .......................................................... 221 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee: Stephen W. Van Evera and Fotini Christia of the MIT Political Science Department, and Richard H. Ward, Dean of the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven, for their invaluable aid. Appreciation is also due to Roger Petersen of MIT, who helped advise me in the early stages of my research. I am indebted to each of these four scholars and mentors for their inestimable help. Without their patience, thoughtful feedback, and support, this dissertation could never have been completed. I will also be forever grateful for my fellow students from MIT. For the incalculable assistance they rendered to me over the years, I must single out Robert Reardon, Marc R. DeVore, Scott Radnitz, and Jessica Wattman. It is no overstatement to say that they made this dissertation possible through their encouragement, examples, insights, and friendship. They are friends and colleagues in the best senses of both words. I can never repay them. This work was also facilitated by a network of friends too numerous to count. Thank you all for believing in me. In particular, I should thank Xiaolu Hsi and Alison Craig, whose sage advice and kind words guided me through this project. Most of all, I am happy to thank my dear family for their unconditional love and support. Everything that I am, and everything that I have achieved, I owe to my mother and father, David and Grettle Payne. I learned the most important lessons of my life from them, and I can never thank them enough. I am also grateful for the love and friendship of my siblings- Sara, Samuel, Daniel, James, and David- and their spouses and children. Thank you all so much for inspiring me to strive upward. Finally, I would express my eternal gratitude to my wife, JaNae. She did not start this marathon with me, but her love got me over the finish line. Thank you, sweetheart. 8 Chapter One The Problem of Terrorism and State Support Introduction Terrorism is a persistent problem for the United States and many other countries. An important cause of terrorism is state sponsorship- the giving of support to foreign terrorist groups by states. State-sponsored terrorism is an important instrument of foreign policy for many states. State support for terrorist organizations and networks around the world (like state efforts to fight terrorism) also shapes the character of international terrorism. Better understanding why sponsor states support foreign terrorists, and why they cut off this support, will help states which are the targets of terrorism better respond to this problem. This dissertation accordingly asks four inter-related questions. First, why do states sponsor terrorism? Second, what causes sponsor states to cease their support? Third, how best can targets of state-sponsored terrorism persuade sponsor states to cease their support? Fourth, how best can sponsor states avoid accountability? In answer to these four questions, I offer four hypotheses. First, I argue that three conditions are necessary for state sponsorship: states must have a motivation for conflict, constraints
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Church Committee, the CIA, and the Intelligence Dimension of US
    13 Unquiet Americans: The Church Committee, the CIA, and the Intelligence Dimension of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the 1970s Paul M. McGarr On September 13, 1974, William E. Colby, the Director of U.S Central Intelligence, stood before the annual conference of the Fund for Peace, a Washington D.C. based non- profit institution, concerned with security and development in the global south. Speaking in the context of a post-Watergate political climate heavily laden with conspiracism and suspicion, Colby surprised his audience by making a case for greater “openness” and transparency on the part of the Central Intelligence Agency. Alluding to CIA-led interventions stretching back to the late 1940s, that had sought to effect regime change in Italy, Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia, the Congo, and Cuba, amongst others, Colby acknowledged the Agency’s record in, “assist[ing] America’s friends against her adversaries in their contest for control of a foreign nation’s political direction.” Remarkably, America’s spymaster went on to publicly defend the utility of CIA interference in the internal affairs of independent sovereign states. “I . would think it mistaken to deprive our nation of the possibility of some moderate covert action response to a foreign problem,” Colby volunteered, “and leave us with nothing between a diplomatic protest and sending in the Marines.”1 In India, where the CIA had been under a media microscope since 1967, when the American magazine Ramparts exposed the Agency’s longstanding financial relationships with an international network of anti- communist educational and cultural bodies, Colby’s candor, in the words of U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mitrokhin Archive Reveals the STASI Usage of Number Stations
    The Mitrokhin Archive reveals the STASI usage of number stations Major Vasili Mitrokhin (1922- 2004) was a senior KGB archivist. He began his carrier in the Soviet secret service from 1948. He started as overseas undercover operative, but later was moved to archives of the KGB's First Chief Directorate. It was responsible for foreign operations and intelligence collection activities by the training and management of the covert agents, intelligence collection management, and the collection of political, scientific and technical intelligence. As archivist he gained access to many secret and sensitive documents. He became disillusioned with the Soviet system by listening western radio broadcasts and reading the documents about the Soviet repressions and atrocities. He managed to make copies and detailed notes of the documents from the archive, while he supervised the archive move from Lubyanka building to the new KGB headquarters at Yasenevo. In 1985 he retired. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he traveled to Riga, Latvia and tried to make contact with the US embassy. He was however, turned down by the Americans who did not trust the authenticity of his documents. The UK embassy was more helpful and Mitrokhin gained appointment with the British Secret Service the MI6 and the 25,000 pages of files hidden in his house, covering operations from as far back as the 1930s. The content of these notes and documents have been described in various books, but now his archive has been made digital in the Churchill Archives Center. Among the published documents one document caught our attention, the STASI German/Russian lexicon of intelligence terms.
    [Show full text]
  • The Soviet Roots of Meddling in U.S. Politics
    The Soviet Roots of Meddling in U.S. Politics PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 452 January 2017 Mark Kramer1 Harvard University The release on January 6 of an unclassified version of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s report describing efforts by Russian security services to influence last year’s U.S. presidential campaign in favor of Donald Trump evoked a sense of deja vu. Despite the advent of cyberwarfare, the Russian government’s attempts to sway the U.S. election in 2016 were strikingly reminiscent of Soviet “active measures” during the Cold War. The Intelligence Community report says that Russia’s use of cyberwarfare and other tactics in 2016 was “the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order.” This is undoubtedly true, but the report goes on to claim that “these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.” This sweeping characterization is toned down later in the report, but only slightly. The notion that Russian intelligence services’ actions in 2016 were unprecedented in scale reflects an inadequate understanding of the historical context. The reality is that the two main Soviet intelligence and security agencies—the KGB and GRU (military intelligence)—kept up a vigorous campaign for several decades to meddle in U.S. politics and discredit the United States. The “active measures” used by the KGB and GRU during the Cold War, including disinformation, forgeries of documents and letters, and the spread of propaganda through sympathetic individuals and front organizations, were remarkably similar to the tactics and goals of Russian intelligence agencies in 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • WALTER CRONKITE – IMAGE #28 the 20Th Summer Olympic Games
    WALTER CRONKITE – IMAGE #28 The 20th Summer Olympic Games were held in Munich, Germany, in 1972. Tensions ran high at these Olympics, because they were the first Olympic games held in Germany since the Nazis hosted them in 1936. The Israeli athletes and their trainers were especially nervous. Many had family members who had been murdered during the Holocaust or were themselves Holocaust survivors. The first few days of the Olympic Games went smoothly. On September 4th the Israeli team spent the evening out, seeing the play, Fiddler on the Roof. Then they went back to the Olympic Village to sleep. A little after 4 a.m. on September 5th, as the Israeli athletes slept, eight members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization terrorist group, Black September, jumped over the six-foot high fence that encircled the Olympic Village. The terrorists headed straight for 31 Connollystrasse, the building where the Israeli contingent was staying. Around 4:30 a.m. the terrorists entered the building. They rounded up the occupants of apartment 1 and, then, apartment 3. Several of the Israelis fought back. Two of them were killed. A couple of others were able to escape out windows. Nine were taken hostage. By 5:10 a.m. the police had been alerted, and news of the attack had spread around the world. The terrorists then dropped a list of their demands out the window. They wanted 234 prisoners released from Israeli prisons and two from German prisons by 9 a.m. Negotiators were able to extend the deadline to noon, then to 1 p.m., then to 3 p.m., then to 5 p.m.
    [Show full text]
  • The Munich Massacre: a New History
    The Munich Massacre: A New History Eppie Briggs (aka Marigold Black) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of BA (Hons) in History University of Sydney October 2011 1 Contents Introduction and Historiography Part I – Quiet the Zionist Rage 1. The Burdened Alliance 2. Domestic Unrest Part II – Rouse the Global Wrath 3. International Condemnation 4. The New Terrorism Conclusion 2 Acknowledgments I would like to thank first and foremost Dr Glenda Sluga to whom I am greatly indebted for her guidance, support and encouragement. Without Glenda‟s sage advice, the writing of this thesis would have been an infinitely more difficult and painful experience. I would also like to thank Dr Michael Ondaatje for his excellent counsel, good-humour and friendship throughout the last few years. Heartfelt thanks go to Elise and Dean Briggs for all their love, support and patience and finally, to Angus Harker and Janie Briggs. I cannot adequately convey the thanks I owe Angus and Janie for their encouragement, love, and strength, and for being a constant reminder as to why I was writing this thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis examines the Nixon administration’s response to the Munich Massacre; a terrorist attack which took place at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. By examining the contextual considerations influencing the administration’s response in both the domestic and international spheres, this thesis will determine the manner in which diplomatic intricacies impacted on the introduction of precedent setting counterterrorism institutions. Furthermore, it will expound the correlation between the Nixon administration’s response and a developing conceptualisation of acts of modern international terrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • Palestine 100 Years of Struggle: the Most Important Events Yasser
    Palestine 100 Years of Struggle: The Most Important Events Yasser Arafat Foundation 1 Early 20th Century - The total population of Palestine is estimated at 600,000, including approximately 36,000 of the Jewish faith, most of whom immigrated to Palestine for purely religious reasons, the remainder Muslims and Christians, all living and praying side by side. 1901 - The Zionist Organization (later called the World Zionist Organization [WZO]) founded during the First Zionist Congress held in Basel Switzerland in 1897, establishes the “Jewish National Fund” for the purpose of purchasing land in Palestine. 1902 - Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II agrees to receives Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement and, despite Herzl’s offer to pay off the debt of the Empire, decisively rejects the idea of Zionist settlement in Palestine. - A majority of the delegates at The Fifth Zionist Congress view with favor the British offer to allocate part of the lands of Uganda for the settlement of Jews. However, the offer was rejected the following year. 2 1904 - A wave of Jewish immigrants, mainly from Russia and Poland, begins to arrive in Palestine, settling in agricultural areas. 1909 Jewish immigrants establish the city of “Tel Aviv” on the outskirts of Jaffa. 1914 - The First World War begins. - - The Jewish population in Palestine grows to 59,000, of a total population of 657,000. 1915- 1916 - In correspondence between Sir Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt, and Sharif Hussein of Mecca, wherein Hussein demands the “independence of the Arab States”, specifying the boundaries of the territories within the Ottoman rule at the time, which clearly includes Palestine.
    [Show full text]
  • Researching Soviet/Russian Intelligence in America: Bibliography (Last Updated: October 2018)
    Know Your FSB From Your KGB: Researching Soviet/Russian Intelligence in America: Bibliography (Last updated: October 2018) 1. Federal Government Sources A. The 2016 US Presidential Election Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections. Office of the Director of National intelligence, January 6, 2017. Committee Findings on the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, July 3, 2018. Disinformation: Panel I, Panel II. A Primer in Russian Active Measures and Influence Campaigns: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, First Session, Thursday, March 30, 2017. (Y 4.IN 8/19: S.HRG.115-40/) Link: http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo86393 FACT SHEET: Actions in Response to Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and Harassment. White House Office of the Press Secretary, December 29, 2016. Grand Jury Indicts 12 Russian Intelligence Officers for Hacking Offenses Related to the 2016 Election. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, July 13, 2018. Grizzly Steppe: Russian Malicious Cyber Activity. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, December 29, 2016. Information Warfare: Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service, March 5, 2018. Minority Views: The Minority Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 26, 2018, Submit the Following Minority Views to the Majority-Produced "Report on Russian active Measures, March 22, 2018." House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, March 26, 2018. Open Hearing: Social Media Influence in the 2016 U.S. Election: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, First Session, Wednesday, November 1, 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • Targeted Killing: Self-Defense, Preemption, and the War on Terrorism
    Journal of Strategic Security Volume 2 Number 2 Volume 2, No. 2: May 2009 Article 1 Targeted Killing: Self-Defense, Preemption, and the War on Terrorism Thomas Byron Hunter Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss Part of the Defense and Security Studies Commons, National Security Law Commons, and the Portfolio and Security Analysis Commons pp. 1-52 Recommended Citation Hunter, Thomas Byron. "Targeted Killing: Self-Defense, Preemption, and the War on Terrorism." Journal of Strategic Security 2, no. 2 (2010) : 1-52. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.2.2.1 Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol2/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Access Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Strategic Security by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Targeted Killing: Self-Defense, Preemption, and the War on Terrorism Abstract This paper assesses the parameters and utility of “targeted killing” in combating terrorism and its role within the norm of state self-defense in the international community. The author’s thesis is that, while targeted killing provides states with a method of combating terrorism, and while it is “effective” on a number of levels, it is inherently limited and not a panacea. The adoption and execution of such a program brings with it, among other potential pitfalls, political repercussions. Targeted killing is defined herein as the premeditated, preemptive, and intentional killing of an individual or individuals known or believed to represent a present and/or future threat to the safety and security of a state through affiliation with terrorist groups or individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights.Indb
    Landman, Todd. "Evidence and explanations." Human Rights and Democracy: The Precarious Triumph of Ideals. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. 61–82. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 3 Oct. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781472544643.ch-005>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 3 October 2021, 05:36 UTC. Copyright © Todd Landman, 2013. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. CHAPTER FIVE Evidence and explanations Introduction We saw in the previous chapter that the experience of democracy, democratization and the advancement of human rights are both vast and highly variegated. Many countries and regions have made great progress in establishing democracy and protecting human rights during the course of the twentieth century and early years of the twenty-first century, while other countries have seen setbacks or continued forms of authoritarian rule where democracy continues to be elusive and human rights continue be violated. For analysts of global politics, these trends across time and space are referred to as ‘ variation ’ , and as we shall see in this chapter, such variation is in need of explanation . The social sciences have developed and continue to develop theories and methods that help us understand how, why and under what conditions are the advance of democracy and human rights possible. This combination of theories and methods seeks to reduce the complexity of what we observe in the world and look for common sets of factors that account for the kinds of changes that were discussed in the previous chapter.
    [Show full text]
  • Princeton Diplomatic Invitational 2020
    Princeton Diplomatic Invitational 2020 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Committee Chair: Person ‘year Director: NATO PDI 2020 Contents Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction to NATO ................................................................................................................ 3 Topic A: Russia Today ................................................................................................................. 5 Questions to Consider ................................................................................................................ 14 Bibliography A ............................................................................................................................. 15 Topic B: Counter-terrorism ....................................................................................................... 15 Questions to Consider ................................................................................................................ 27 Bibliography B ............................................................................................................................. 28 2 NATO PDI 2020 Introduction to NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military and political alliance made up of 28 member states throughout Europe and the Americas. First established on April 4th, 1949 with the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s creation at the beginning of the Cold
    [Show full text]
  • Covert Networks a Comparative Study Of
    COVERT NETWORKS A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES USED BY FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES TO WEAPONIZE SOCIAL MEDIA by Sarah Ogar A thesis submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Baltimore, Maryland December 2019 2019 Sarah Ogar All Rights Reserved Abstract From the Bolshevik Revolution to the Brexit Vote, the covert world of intelligence has attempted to influence global events with varying degrees of success. In 2016, one of the most brazen manifestations of Russian intelligence operations was directed against millions of Americans when they voted to elect a new president. Although this was not the first time that Russia attempted to influence an American presidential election, it was undoubtedly the largest attempt in terms of its scope and the most publicized to date. Although much discussion has followed the 2016 election, there have not been much concerted historical analysis which situates the events of 2016 within the global timeline of foreign intelligence collection. This paper argues that the onset of social media has altered intelligence collection in terms of its form, but not in terms of its essence. Using the case study method, this paper illustrates how three different nations apply classical intelligence techniques to the modern environment of social media. This paper examines how China has utilized classical agent recruitment techniques through sites like LinkedIn, how Iran has used classical honey trap techniques through a combination of social media sites, and how Russia has employed the classical tactics of kompromat, forgery, agents of influence and front groups in its modern covert influence campaigns.
    [Show full text]
  • Cuba: Issues for the 109Th Congress
    Cuba: Issues for the 109th Congress Updated December 19, 2006 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RL32730 Cuba: Issues for the 109th Congress Summary Since the early 1960s, U.S. policy toward Cuba under Fidel Castro has consisted largely of isolating the communist nation through comprehensive economic sanctions, which have been significantly tightened by the Bush Administration. Another component of U.S. policy has consisted of support measures for the Cuban people, including private humanitarian donations and U.S.-sponsored radio and television broadcasting to Cuba. While there appears to be broad agreement on the overall objective of U.S. policy toward Cuba—to help bring democracy and respect for human rights to the island—there are several schools of thought on how to achieve that objective: some advocate maximum pressure on Cuba until reforms are enacted; others argue for lifting some U.S. sanctions judged to be hurting the Cuban people; and still others call for a swift normalization of U.S.-Cuban relations. Fidel Castro’s announcement in late July 2006 that he was temporarily ceding political power to his brother Raúl in order to recover from surgery has prompted some Members to call for re-examination of U.S. policy. In the 109th Congress, legislative initiatives included the approval of five human rights resolutions: H.Con.Res. 81, H.Res. 193, H.Res. 388, S.Res. 140, and S.Res. 469. P.L. 109-102 funded Cuba democracy projects in FY2006. Action on several FY2007 appropriations measures were not completed, so action will need to be completed in 2007: House-passed H.R.
    [Show full text]