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ISIS(L) = A TOOL OF THE SAUDIS

ISIS(L) = A TOOL OF THE SAUDIS?  Oct 2, 2014 Interview of Ali Al-Ahmed on The Real News Network

Interview on The Real News Network with Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of the Institute of Gulf Affairs in Washington and a Saudi scholar and expert on Saudi political affairs including: terrorism, Islamic movements, Wahhabi Islam, Saudi political history, Saudi-American relations, torture, press freedom and the al-Saud family history. He has been invited to speak at Princeton University, Amnesty International, the Hudson Institute and Meridian International Center. He exposed major news stories such as the Pentagon’s botched translation of the 9ll Bin Laden tape, and the video of Daniel Pearl’s murder.

Click for Source Video and Text on The Real News Network

PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, The Real News Network: USA says war on ISIS(L) is to degrade and destroy it — But it has a rather strange set of alliances, and perhaps one of the strangest of all these alliances is the alliance between Saudi Arabia and said the United States. According to Senator Bob Graham, Saudi Arabia was actually involved in the attacks of 9ll and it’s acknowledged to contribute to around 95% of all terrorism, playing on both sides of the terrorism question. So what is the role and relationship of Saudi Arabia to ISIS(L) and why are they so intent on overthrowing Assad in Syria?

JAY: Ali Al-Ahmed is an expert on Saudi and Gulf region politics, and on terrorism. This is a very complicated time in the Middle East, particularly the war in Syria, the emergence of IS or ISIS(L) in Iraq. President Obama says American intelligence underestimated IS, and it’s kind of weird because some people have called the success of IS militarily one of the greatest routs of the an army in modern history — the rout of the USA-$TRILLION Trained Iraqi army. Why did USA fail so badly and also our Intelligence on IS power Failed even worse since the Saudis must have known?

ALI AL-AHMED, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR GULF AFFAIRS: The Americans have partnership problem that relies on unreliable allies = Jordan + Saudi Arabia + Big Oil Monarchs and Dictators. These SO-CALLED Allies mislead giving misinformation to USA intelligence. The Iraqi government aligned with Iran, chose not to work with USA intelligence and security robbing the USA of these far more honest and reliable allies.

FACT: Saudi Arabia = Purposefully misleads the Americans even before 9ll.

AL-AHMED: Saudi Arabia is the godfather of ISIS and other terror groups in Syria and in Iraq. So Saudi Arabia is absolutely deceiving the USA. And that’s their game since the 1930s. They are very good at it.

JAY: In Syria the Saudis thought they could use ISIS(L) and kind of control them, while they overthrew Assad, and then, when Assad’s gone, they would then be able to contain these forces. Do you think they have lost control of ISIS(L) or is what ISIS(L) following the Saudi agenda?

AL-AHMED: It is very much part of the Saudi agenda. If you look at what ISIS has been doing it correlates to the Saudi foreign policy in Iraq and in Syria to dislodge or to weaken the Iraqi and Syrian governments. So ISIS is doing that for them. I don’t know if they have lost control of them. There is no evidence of that yet. But the Saudi and Qatar’s goals in Syria was not to remove Assad and replace it with a democratic regime. They wanted to make sure that if Assad is gone, there is not a Democratic, pluralistic, representative government in Syria that gives a model for the region, for the people in the Gulf, that you can have a government that is run by Sunnis and Allawis and Shia and Christians that can work in terms of representation.

AL-AHMED: The Gulf absolute monarchies fear people within a society working together and electing their own government. Gulf Oil Dictators DNA see democracy as extremely dangerous to their absolute Dictatorship. They use Overwhelming Violence and MURDER/Beheadings (Ancient Wahabism) to prevent any power of the people to elect leaders.

JAY: An organization called INEGMA, a military think tank that works with Saudis and other military leaders and they say the Saudis are willing to work with the Iranians to fight ISIS(L). But the Saudis prime goal is overthrowing Assad so the Iranians would have to give up supporting Assad. But the whole point of the Saudis overthrowing Assad was a way to overthrow Iran.

AL-AHMED: Absolutely. Big part of the Saudis game is to overthrow Iran which is propping up the Syrian government in many ways. The Saudis ARE OBSESSED WITH containing or eliminating Syrian and Iranian power and influence in the Middle East.

FACT: 1931: Avraham Tehomi/T’homi (born as Zilberg, 1903–1990) was a noted Jewish militant who founded the terrorist organization Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization) to liberate Palestine from British occupation and Arabs residents (Palestine) and they allegedly killed Jacob Israel de Haan. Tehomi nickname in the Irgun was “Gideon”.

AL-AHMED: Saudis are very pragmatic and did a very similar ISIS(L) mode of operation in the 1930s with a very similar group to ISIS led by the Saudis attacked by the British at the time. The 1930s Saudi group, very much like ISIS, attacked Syria and Iraq, known as the /χwɑːn/, later destroyed by the Saudi government itself. Saudis are driven by one thing, the survival of the monarchy and anything that it takes to do that, they will do it, including killing their own offsprings and cutting their own tentacles in Syria and Iraq.

JAY: Supposedly Saudis are now joining the bombing of ISIS(L) in Iraq and Syria = Their phone parallel policy: you act like an American ally over here; on the other hand, you helped finance and organize the extremists you’re supposedly fighting.

AL-AHMED: Absolutely. A similar example is Pakistan, a USA ally, that receives $Billions of USA MIDDLE CLASS SUPPORT and has a nuclear bomb the USA made no fuss about, but the Taliban and AQ Contractors are housed and supported by the Pakistani government’s ISI intelligence and military security apparatus. That USA support for Pakistan, the Taliban and AQ Contractors continues for another 10+ Years even though the Taliban killed thousands of American and other Western soldiers and far more Afghani people. The USA GOV has not been successful in terms of its choices of allies for success.

ASIDE: FOR USA MIC = SUCCESS IS NOT THE GOAL = THE ENDLESS EXTRACTION OF WEALTH VIA ENDLESS WARS IS THE GOAL + SPLINTERING NATIONS into weak failed states THAT ARE EASILY DOMINATED AND EXPLOITED BY MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS for Resources and slave level labor!

AL-AHMED: The Saudis, pretend to be in USA coalition so they are not seen as openly against the USA and supporting ISIS(L). They made the rational, pragmatic choice to pretend.

JAY: Likewise the ISIS(L) pretends to target the Saudi regime using rhetoric — Calling them blasphemers for (pretending) to work with the Americans — Largest Wahhabi Crimes is working with the infidels (USA). You’re suggesting that’s more rhetoric than it is any real intent to try to foment some kind of uprising within Saudi Arabia.

AL-AHMED: That is correct. The paid Saudi voices pretend ISIS(L) is a threat to Saudi Arabia is empty rhetoric and there is zero such evidence. In fact, ISIS(L) has been on the Saudi-Iraqi border and not attempted to infiltrate or bomb or kill or do anything to Saudis — its a smoke screen.

AL-AHMED: Perhaps we will see some small attacks here or there, used as part of the deception process that we see used in the Middle East, not only in Saudi Arabia but also in Egypt — with attacks on Christians to be blamed on Muslim extremists. That kind of deception is common in the region as a cover or smoke screen.

JAY: Just more confirmation the Saudis constantly mislead the Americans, and did not give the Americans legitimate intelligence on ISIS(L) to help it grow and rob banks and oil fields. But how could the Americans not have better intelligence on their own? They’ve been in this region for years now.

AL-AHMED: USA system failure by American officials (I don’t want to mention names), but a woman running the terror files during the Bush era is basically a Saudi mouthpiece. If you have close relationship between USA officials and the Saudi monarchy you end up with the officials getting fat contracts after they leave office. The former head of the FBI (Robert Mueller) now is on the Saudi docket (REVOLVING DOOR OF BRIBERY FOR FAVORS).

AL-AHMED: These USA-SAUDI relationships that benefit USA officials personally undermine the ability of USA intelligence and setting up files to force the decisions the Saudis want — The right decisions based on personal financial interest is the first motivator for far too many of these officials — Much more important to them than the interests and the safety of the United States.

AL-AHMED: That’s why when you talk about Senator Bob Graham saying that the Saudi government is involved somehow in 9ll, but we have not seen any American effort to bring Saudi Arabia to account, or even publicly saying, you have to clean house. Nothing has been done.

JAY: We did a series of interviews with Senator Bob Graham and he specifically says that the Saudi government, not some rogue princes, as sometimes is suggested, was directly involved in facilitating and helping to finance the 9ll attacks. There’s 28 pages of redacted pages in the joint congressional 9ll report, and we know from various sources, including the L.A. times and New York Times, who interviewed people who saw those pages, that in those pages it specifically names names of Saudi officials.

JAY: And I asked Senator Bob Graham directly whether Prince Bandar was involved, and he essentially said yes. Bandar was the Saudi ambassador to the United States at that time and known as Bandar Bush, he was so close to the Bush family. Therefore, American authorities know the role of the Saudis in all of this, and yet they’re treated like a normal ally. What is going on here other than what you suggest, individuals get money/bribes? But still there’s something more than that.

AL-AHMED: An article in Politico addressed this issue and say that is why Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are immune from U.S. criticism despite their horrible human rights record, despite the fact they support terrorism that has killed many Americans. It’s not complicated if we compare China to Saudi Arabia.

FACTS: CHINA = USA TARGET = Own $1.3 trillion of U.S. debt and are a much greater, and far more powerful nation than Saudi Arabia, selling USA $450+ Billion of goods/Year = USA protects a lot of Chinese dissidents

FACTS: SAUDIS = USA ALLIE = USA buys only $55 Billion of Saudis OIL products/year. = USA never criticizes Saudi Arabia Dictatorship and Human Rights VIOLATIONS and beheadings.

AL-AHMED: So what causes this odd variance? Saudis and Big Oil Dictatorship invest heavily in buying USA opinions and loyalties with BRIBERY of Washington, D.C. public and private officials. This includes think tanks, universities, and former government officials. Current officials are given the nod and know that when you leave your office you have a good $Contract coming up. — THAT IS THE REVOLVING DOOR BRIBERY PROBLEM infecting our foreign policies and purposely choosing the wrong allies.

FACT: The 95% hated Congress that takes massive bribes will NEVER try to correct this — Congress is AIPAC-WALL STREET-ISRAEL-SAUDI-BIG OIL owned and operated. So Congress will never do anything that reveals this to the public or removes these Big Oil Monarchs from partnering with USA while also Destroying our Buildings and creating ENDLESS WARS.

AL-AHMED: The result is absolute Monarchical Dictatorships are able to BUY influence — NOT only USA GOV officials, but academic and think tanks in the United States and can pull off enormous arm purchases as the #4 Largest spender on their military at $60+ Billion/year

JAY: The Saudi logic is to overthrow Syria, the linchpin of this whole war for the Saudis and ISIS(L), since they were losing to Assad forces. USA logic is that if we have successful military operations against ISIS(L) in Iraq, then ISIS(L) will move back to destroy Assad in Syria and USA will with Saudi Arabia train and arm “supposed moderate” forces to fight Assad and ABSURDLY fight ISIS(L) — Seems like a complete debacle. The Saudis are intently focused on Overthrowing Assad but refuse allowing any democratization of Syria — So why do the Saudis care if Assad stays?

AL-AHMED: Saudis #1 GOAL is to weaken HEZBOLLAH. Saudis don’t care if Assad stays since Iran is the Saudis REAL TARGET! Capturing Syria blocks Iran’s access to the Mediterranean, and therefore stops most support for Hezbollah (see definition below), to weaken them.

AL-AHMED: Saudis #2 GOAL is to NEVER let a modern secular democratic or semi-Democratic state in Syria orr Iraq that could insight rebellion at home against the medieval Dictatorships of the Big Oil Monarchs.

JAY: Is ISIS(L) is an instrument of the Saudis, how can American intelligence and political leaders not get this?

AL-AHMED: Some of them know it, but choose to ignore Saudi-ISIS(L), just like 9ll. This is the same case with Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait. Sometimes these things become so public sometimes it’s embarrassing. We know Qatar is supporting AQ Contract Killers and that includes ISIS(L) and al-Nusra which yells threats at USA.

AL-AHMED: Yet Kerry has refused to say anything about Qatar, as if Qatar,s 280,000 residents form a superpower. Why can’t Kerry criticize Qatar or Bahrain? Because, of the the money spent on former USA officials, think tanks, foundations, and other U.S. officials. That is the difference from China and other countries.

JAY: Right. But there must also be a convergence of interests. It’s not like the USA wants popular democracy all across the Middle East. The USA funds dictators now and for more than half a century.

AL-AHMED: USA has not stated its support of democracy in the Middle East — See my NYT article saying that USA government never talks about its support for democracy or a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain, or for resignation of the prime minister in Bahrain who’s been there for 44 years. USA publicly acknowledges its policy is to support absolute monarchies in the Gulf, and has said nothing beside that. USA has not said, we would like to see the people in the Gulf, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Qatar, have a greater role in their government. We have not heard that. No. You’re right.

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Iraqi Governor Hires U.S. Lobbyist To Fight ISIS — The effectiveness of lobbyists in reclaiming land from ISIS remains untested.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/iraqi-governor-hires-us-lobbyist-to-fight-isis?utm_term=fuyj9j#32ot0wu

The governor of the Iraqi province of Mosul is paying a U.S. consulting firm $300,000 to help him fight ISIS.

IRAQ = Hired a McLean, Virginia firm called Chartwell Consultancy to “assist in reclaiming land from Islamic State.”

Saudi Arabia = Buying out Residents along the borders of Yemen and Oman to move out and create an additional 10km buffer zone.

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DEFINITION OF HEZBOLLAH: Hezbollah is a Shi’a Islamist political party funded by Iran and based in Lebanon.

Hezbollah was primarily formed to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation of Arab lands. After the 1982 invasion, Israel occupied a strip of south Lebanon, which was controlled by a militia supported by Israel, the South Lebanon Army (SLA). Hezbollah waged a guerilla campaign against them; with the collapse of the SLA, Israel withdrew on May 24, 2000.

Hezbollah has seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and a satellite television-station, programs for social development and large-scale military deployment of fighters.

Hezbollah maintains strong support among Lebanon’s Shi’a population.

Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran, and political support from Syria.

In August 2008, Lebanon’s new Cabinet unanimously approved a draft policy statement which secures Hezbollah’s existence as an armed organization and guarantees its right to “liberate or recover occupied lands”.

Since 2012, Hezbollah has helped the Syrian government during the Syrian civil war in its fight against the Saudi Arabian and Big Oil Monarchs USA opposition = a “Wahhabi-Zionist” effort to destroy its alliance with Assad against Israel.

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“More Washington Lies” by Paul Craig Roberts

“More Washington Lies” by Paul Craig Roberts Sept 30, 2014

Click for Paul Craig Roberts Source Article

Hong Kong bears no relation to MSM lies. MSM reports spin the protests as a conflict between the demand for democracy and a tyrannical Chinese government.

TRUTH: Hong Kong protests are against the neoliberal economic policies destroying the prospects of everyone but the 1% = Protests are akin to USA occupy movement. — Ming Chun Tang article on CounterPunch.

TRUTH: In Kiev gullible westernized students were organized by the CIA and US-financed NGOs to take to the streets to overthrow the Russian leaning democratically elected government.

CIA may be trying to trigger these Hong Kong protests in hopes that the protests will spread from Hong Kong to other Chinese cities.

FACT: The Chinese, like the Russians, have been extremely careless in permitting USA CIA to operate within their countries and to develop fifth columns.

ISIS CRISIS: Americans are forever and easily deceived.

FACT: IRAQ “Mission Accomplished!” = 13+ YEARS OF MIDDLE CLASS FUNDED WARS = “The only mission…accomplished is the enrichment of the military/security complex and the creation of the American Police State.

DECADE+ of US military battering of Iraq = “ISIS at the Gates of Baghdad.”

USA LIE about ISIS = It is a demonic threat to the West that cuts off people’s heads.

FACT: ISIS = Qatar + Saudi Arabia + CIA spent $3+ Billion to recruit and fund ISIS operations of OVERWHELMING VIOLENCE AND MURDER to create Splintered weak failed governments that are easily Dominated and exploited by Big Oil Wahhabi Dictators and by Israel.

COVER STORY THAT IS BASED IN FACT: ISIS consists of Sunnis tired of existing in UK/French created artificial states after World War I colonialists seized the territories of the Ottoman Empire. + Sunnis are tired of being suppressed by Shia majorities or dictators who suppress Sunnis + Sunnis are tired of being murdered, plundered, displaced, and dispossessed by USA and EU countries + Sunnis are tired of the immoral Western culture imposed on them by modern technology.

ISIS is redrawing the artificial boundaries that the Europeans created, and they are establishing an Islamic government free of the moral corruption of Western materialism and sexual promiscuity. In short, they are tired of being dictated to and having their culture suppressed.

FACT: ISIS = Perfect excuse to continue robbing huge sums of MIDDLE CLASS TAXPAYER money from gullible Americans to enrich Multinational Corporate Billionaires, Bankers, and the Massive MIC. = Willing to pay MORE to (so-called) training Iraqi army, who dropped their weapons or joined ISIS, all with MIDDLE CLASS MONEY. = Patrick Cockburn documented 40,000+ of the 60,000+ American trained and equipped Iraqis defending Mosul disappeared by kicking-back half their salaries to their officers to stay at home or to work a better paying job.

Afghanistan: USA bought and paid for new “president” puppet agreed to Washington’s demands for 10,000 USA TROOPS for 10 years or FOREVER (that Karzai refused) would not agree to DEFEND the BANKSTERS OPIUM FIELDS DRUG BUSINESSES and prevent a Russian pipeline, and LOCK OUT RUSSIA AND CHINA from other valuable resources.

Ebola: Because Americans don’t trust their GOV too many Americans believe that ebola is being imported as part of the 1%’s plan to destroy the 99%.

USA GOV + MSM = Serves 425 MULTINATIONAL CORPORATE BILLIONAIRES AND AAIPAC-WALL STREET BANKSTERS = Inflicts endless lies and disinformation on the rest of us.

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KISSINGER = WAR CRIMINAL WITH A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR MURDERING 150000 CAMBODIANS WHILE SERVING NIXON + NOW WE SEE ANOTHER EVIL MURDER PLOT

KISSINGER = WAR CRIMINAL WITH A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR MURDERING 150,000 CAMBODIANS WHILE SERVING NIXON + NOW WE SEE ANOTHER EVIL MURDER PLOT.

Kissinger Drew Up Plans to Attack Cuba, Records Show = AN ACT OF PERSONAL REVENGE USING AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS MONEY.

Click for NYT Source Article on Kissinger Criminality

KISSINGER BOOGER!

THE DIRT BAG MURDERER!

KISSINGER INDICTED by newly released USA Documents: Kissinger Drew Up Plans to Attack Cuba, Records Show = AN ACT OF PERSONAL REVENGE USING AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS MONEY.

KISSINGER INDICTED by USA Documents published in “Back Channel to Cuba,” a new book written by the longtime Cuba experts William M. LeoGrande, a professor of government at American University, and Peter Kornbluh, the director of the archive’s Cuba Documentation Project.

Kissinger, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER WHO MURDERED 150,000 OR PERHAPS MORE CAMBODIANS THAN ANY DICTATOR, was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977.

“Nobody has known that at the very end of a really remarkable effort to normalize relations, Kissinger, the global chessboard player, was insulted that a small country would ruin his plans for Africa and was essentially prepared to bring the imperial force of the United States on Fidel Castro’s head….You can see in the conversation with Gerald Ford that he is extremely apoplectic…(adding Kissinger used) “language about doing harm to Cuba that is pretty quintessentially aggressive.”

— Peter Kornbluh

1976: Kissinger + Gerald R. Ford  Nearly 40 years ago mapped out secret plans to launch airstrikes against Havana and “smash Cuba,” newly disclosed government documents show and documents declassified by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library at the request of the National Security Archive, a research group.

Kissinger’s prepared plan was to be implemented after the 1976 presidential election to attack Cuba, BUT went nowhere because Jimmy Carter won the election. 

KISSINGER PLANNED to strike ports and military installations in Cuba and to send Marine battalions to the United States Navy base at Guantánamo Bay to “clobber” the Cubans, as Mr. Kissinger put it, according to the records. Mr. Kissinger, the documents show, worried that the United States would look weak if it did not stand up to a country of just eight million people.

KISSINGER:  “I think sooner or later we are going to have to crack the Cubans.”

— Kissinger told President Ford in the Oval Office in 1976

BASED ON USA documents posted online and published in “Back Channel to Cuba,” a new book written by the longtime Cuba experts William M. LeoGrande, a professor of government at American University, and Peter Kornbluh, the director of the archive’s Cuba Documentation Project.

Kissinger, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER WHO MURDERED 150,000 OR PERHAPS MORE CAMBODIANS THAN ANY DICTATOR, was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977.

“Nobody has known that at the very end of a really remarkable effort to normalize relations, Kissinger, the global chessboard player, was insulted that a small country would ruin his plans for Africa and was essentially prepared to bring the imperial force of the United States on Fidel Castro’s head.” — Peter Kornbluh

“You can see in the conversation with Gerald Ford that he is extremely apoplectic…(adding Kissinger used) “language about doing harm to Cuba that is pretty quintessentially aggressive…These were not plans to put up on a shelf.  Kissinger is so angry at Castro for sending troops to Angola at a moment when he was holding out his hand for normalization that he really wants to, as he said, ‘clobber the pipsqueak.’”

  — Mr. LeoGrande

Kissinger called for scores of aircraft to mine Cuban ports and warned that USA risked losing its Navy base in Cuba was vulnerable to counterattack+ A military blockade of Cuba’s shores + Warned that most likely a conflict with the Soviet Union (top Cuba ally) at the time + Estimated 1976 cost was $120 million to reopen the Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico and reposition destroyer squadrons.

“If we decide to use military power, it must succeed,” Mr. Kissinger said in one meeting, in which advisers warned against leaks. “There should be no halfway measures — we would get no award for using military power in moderation. If we decide on a blockade, it must be ruthless and rapid and efficient.”

Kissinger’s prepared plan was after the 1976 presidential election to attack Cuba went nowhere because Jimmy Carter won the election. 

Mr. Kissinger, now 91, refused a request to comment.

Memos prove Rumsfeld was present at the meeting Kissinger ordered up the contingency plan — Refused a request to comment.

Some Cuba historians said the revelations were startling, because USA was just coming out of the Vietnam War.  Frank O. Mora, former deputy assistant secretary of defense said. “For Kissinger to be talking the way they were talking, you would think Cuba had invaded the whole continent.”

John F. Kennedy’s offered an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the missile crisis, but Kissinger’s record of MALICE AND REVENGE in hundreds of formerly secret U.S. documents.Henry Kissinger had serious plans to bomb and ‘smash’ Cuba

Click for THE WEEK Source Article on Kissinger Criminality

It isn’t clear why the secretary of State was ordering up war plans.

— Peter Weber

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 487 Posted October 1, 2014 — READ THE DOCUMENTS:

Document 1: Memorandum of Conversation, February 25, 1976

During a conversation with President Ford in the Oval Office, Secretary of State Kissinger raises the issue of Cuba’s military incursion into Angola, implying that Latin American nations are concerned about a “race war” because of Cuba’s efforts in Africa. “I think we are going to have to smash Castro. We probably can’t do it before the elections.” The president responds, “I agree.”

Document 2: Memorandum of Conversation, March 15, 1976

In another Oval Office conversation, Kissinger raises the Cuban military involvement in Africa and expresses concern that Castro may deploy troops elsewhere in the region. “I think sooner or later we have to crack the Cubans … I think we have to humiliate them.” He continues to argue that, “If they move into Namibia or Rhodesia, I would be in favor of clobbering them. That would create a furor … but I think we might have to demand they get out of Africa.” When President Ford asks, “what if they don’t?” Kissinger responds, “I think we could blockade.”

Document 3: Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, Cuba, March 24, 1976

Kissinger convenes The Washington Special Actions Group-a small elite team of national security officials-on March 24 to discuss a range of options and capabilities to move against Cuba. “We want to get planning started in the political, economic and military fields so that we can see what we can do if we want to move against Cuba,” he explains. “In the military field there is an invasion or blockade.” Kissinger shares his domino theory of Cuban military involvement in the region. “If the Cubans destroy Rhodesia then Namibia is next and then there is South Africa. It might only take five years,” Kissinger argues. In discussing military options, he states, “if we decide to use military power it must succeed. There should be no halfway measures – we get no reward for using military power in moderation.” Kissinger orders the group to secretly draw up plans for retaliation if Cuban troops go beyond Angola.

Document 4: Cuban Contingency Plan Summary, (ca. April 1976)

This document is a summary of the Cuban Contingency survey considering the possible U.S. reactions to continued Cuban and USSR “Angola style” intervention. The summary notes that the U.S. is already engaging in some efforts to dissuade further intervention through “public warnings, signals to the USSR, changes in our African policy and some measures designed to isolate Castro.” While any U.S. response will affect U.S.-Soviet relations, “It is easier to bring pressure on Cuba, as the closer and weaker partner in a tightly interwoven relationship, than on the Soviet Union.”

Document 5: Cuban Contingency Plan Paper 1, (ca. April 1976)

According to this lengthy contingency planning paper, the objective of these plans is to prevent a pattern in which Cuba and the USSR “arrogate to themselves the right to intervene with combat forces in local or regional conflicts.” The contingency plan outlines four courses of action that vary on a scale of seriousness for deterring continued Cuban intervention, including: political pressure, actions against the USSR, a scenario of actions (combining political, economic and military measures), and military steps. Any actions taken towards Cuba could spur greater tension with the USSR. “In short, confronting Cuba — the weaker partner — is an obvious step toward confronting the USSR.” Political measures are presented as the best option for dissuading Cuba because of the increased chances of a U.S.-Cuban “incident” stemming from military actions. Along with the possibility of an incident, this document notes that “one of Cuba’s main foreign policy objectives has been to normalize relations with the countries of this hemisphere.”

The document outlines the option for a quarantine. As Cuba is highly dependent on imports and foreign military equipment (from the USSR), especially by sea, the U.S. would be able to exacerbate Cuba’s greatest vulnerability. On that same theme, the paper points to the U.S. base at Guantanamo as the greatest vulnerability for a Cuban response to any U.S. military actions. Other military steps outlined in the plans include mining Cuban ports and conducting punitive strikes against selected targets.

Document 6: Cuban Contingency Plan Paper 2, (ca. April 1976)

This paper covers several categories of U.S. actions against Cuba: deterrence, pressure to cease and desist, interdiction of Cuban action under way, and retaliation. Any form of deterrence taken by the U.S. would have to be “predicated on a willingness to take some action if the deterrence failed.” However, and reiterated once again, any action taken to confront Cuba would also incite a confrontation with the USSR. The possible military measures presented include three forms of quarantine (selected war materiel, POL imports, maritime blockade excluding food and medicine), mining Cuban ports, and punitive airstrikes on selected targets.

The document notes two important ambiguities — the role of Cuban military involvement in Africa and the threshold to determine the U.S. response to a Cuban provocation. “In sum, there is a good chance the US will be confronted by an ambiguous situation, in which Cuban intervention is not clearly established.” As well, there is “no precise threshold” which would determine the U.S. response, except to state that the threshold would be low if Cuban action were directed against the US or its territories (Puerto Rico), higher in the Caribbean and Latin America, and highest in Africa.
The document states that “we should further make it clear that we are not reverting to the shenanigans of the early 1960’s” and that the U.S. is not violating any international agreements. While the Soviets in 1970 indicated that they regarded the 1962 U.S.-Soviet agreement as still in force, the “failure of the Cubans to permit the UN supervision renders the US pledge technically inoperative.”

Document 7: Kissinger Aide-Memoire to Cuba, January 11, 1975

This conciliatory message drafted by an aide to Kissinger, and approved by the Secretary of State, was given to the Cuban side at the first meeting between U.S. and Cuban representatives, which took place at a cafeteria in La Guardia airport. “We are meeting here to explore the possibilities for a more normal relationship between our two countries,” it begins. The objective is to “determine whether there exists an equal determination on both sides to settle the differences that exist between us.” While the ideological differences are wide, Kissinger expresses hope that such talks will “be useful in addressing concrete issues which it is in the interest of both countries to resolve.” As a gesture to the Cubans, the U.S. will permit Cuban diplomats (accredited to the UN) to travel from New York to Washington and may begin granting additional visas to Cubans for cultural, scientific and education meetings. For Kissinger, “no purpose is served in attempting to embargo ideas.”

Document 8: Memorandum for the Secretary, Meeting in New York with Cuban Representatives, January 11, 1975

In a briefing paper on the first secret meeting at La Guardia airport, Kissinger’s aide Lawrence Eagleburger reports on the tone and exchange of views. The Cubans stated they had no authority to negotiate at that time, but emphasized the importance of removing the embargo as a “sine qua non” for talks. Eagleburger reports that he wanted to “leave both Cubans with a clear understanding that while I had received their message, I was in no way prepared — even unofficially — to accept [removing the embargo] as a precondition to further talks.” Even though at times there was a seemingly difficult tone in the meeting, as Eagleburger explains, “the atmosphere of the meeting was extremely friendly.”

Document 9: Memorandum of Conversation, Pierre Hotel, U.S.-Cuba Meeting, July 9, 1975

This meeting marks the first formal negotiating session to explore normalized relations between the United States and Cuba. To break the ice, Eagleburger suggests that Kissinger is disposed to meet with the Cuban foreign minister during the upcoming UNGA meetings in September. Assistant Secretary of State William D. Rogers begins by explaining that Washington would support lifting multilateral sanctions at the OAS and that the United States would then begin to dismantle the trade embargo, piece by piece, in response to similar gestures from the Cubans. Over the course of the next three hours the U.S. and Cuban officials discuss a series of reciprocal and bilateral improvements of relations, with much of the meeting focused on the Cuban responses to the points raised by the U.S. side. Responding to the piece by piece approach of the U.S., the Cuban representatives reiterate that any precondition for talks remains the lifting of the embargo. “We cannot negotiate under the blockade,” Ramon Sánchez-Parodi argues; “until the embargo is lifted, Cuba and the United States cannot deal with each other as equals and consequently cannot negotiate.”