Being a U.S. citizen I assume you visited Cuba while you were in the military, since you couldn't do it as a civilian. How did you find it first hand? I have to admit that I take with a large grain of salt what I hear from Cuban exiles because it seems that far too often they turn out to be people with an axe to grind that has little to do with death squads and the like.

When my folks went to Cuba, they did not sit around in the hotel. They got out and rode the buses from town to town and wandered around. They saw not one single 'death squad' anywhere.

>I know the reality of Cuba Alan. I am not taking it from news reports. All I can say (unless it has changed drastically in 15 years which is indeed possible but not likely).

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>>>Well, I do agree with that statement, but that wasn't what I was writing to Metin :o)
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>>>>Ok, my mireading I guess. When you asked, "You don't see anything wrong with Fidel Castro's leadership over the years?", I took it to mean that you were implying that there was so much wrong with his leadership that you couldn't imagine his not being able to see it.
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>>Just keep in mind that a lot of the Cuban exiles who write about how horrible Castro is are those same people who profited by the U.S. plundering of Cuba. They'd like very much to go back to the 'old ways'. And a lot of what you hear about Cuba is also filtered through the U.S. Propaganda machine. I don't deny for a moment that Castro is a dictator, but take with at least a small grain of salt what you read about Cuba in the American press. I know a number of people who have vacationed in Cuba, and without exception, they've done it more than once.
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>>When my folks went there many years ago, they wandered through a lot of the villages and found it to be quite pleasant.
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>>Cuba and Castro would have faired far better without the U.S. embargo - which I contend was placed on Cuba out of spite because they were no longer allowed to plunder. Then of course the U.S. comes along and says, "Look how badly Castro has managed the country!"