Excerpt:
"The Cuban military has divided the island of 11 million people into 1,400 "defense zones" intended to be able to operate independently in case of war."

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http://sg.news.yahoo.com/041214/1/3p92m.html

Cuba hails wargame warning to US

Cuba pressed on with its biggest military exercises in almost 20 years, with 400,000 reservists joining regular forces and millions of civilians in wargames which the authorities say are to deter a US invasion.

About 100,000 Cuban regular troops are also taking part in the "Bastion 2004" exercises which started Monday, officials said.

"The enemy will never catch us by surprise," the official communist party daily, Granma, trumpeted Tuesday in its coverage of the wargames which proceeded as ailing President Castro welcomed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his only close ally in the Americas, whose government helps keep Cuba's energy-starved economy afloat with cut-rate oil.

"The only way to stop aggression is to make it abundantly clear that, in this case, Cuba will become from one end to the other an enormous wasp's nest that no aggressor, however powerful, will be able to overcome," Defense Minister Raul Castro said Monday.

"In the end, (the aggressor) will have to withdraw, bloodied and defeated, because this would be a war of all of the people," Castro, a younger brother of President Fidel Castro, warned.

Trucks towing armored cars and officers armed for battle were mobilized on the streets of Havana early Tuesday.

Massive underground shelters where planes, tanks and heavy artillery are housed were opened to combat troops.

The United States on Monday rejected assertions that it planned an invasion. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "We don't think there is any justification, or any particular foundation for this kind of charge."

"The United States has repeatedly called for a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba," he added.

These "exercises are just, I would say, one or more of the many things that the Cuban government does to try to distract people from the problems that they face in their daily lives," Boucher said.

MiG-29 fighters, mobile anti-aircraft batteries, armored amphibious vehicles and tanks all rumbled into action for the massive undertaking.

The Cuban military has divided the island of 11 million people into 1,400 "defense zones" intended to be able to operate independently in case of war.

Squadrons trained in guerrilla tactics have several special Cuban-made arms including "Alejandro" rifles that fire anti-tank grenades and "Mambi" rifles designed to puncture heavy armor, as well as mines and anti-tank units.

Each zone has an anti-air heat-guided missile launcher.

Raul Castro said last week the exercises had been planned in part so Washington "does not commit the errors it committed in Vietnam and that it is now committing in Iraq. So that they do not underestimate our people, who are united and more powerful than those in Iraq."

US President George W. Bush's top diplomat for Latin America has told the US Congress that Havana has a biological arms program, which Havana firmly denies.

Last month Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said on a visit to Costa Rica "We are always prepared for the worst, even for military aggression, ... because this (US) administration is not only right-wing, it is a crazy administration -- and the war in Iraq proves it."

The communist-run island sits some 90 miles (145 kilometers) off the coast of Florida.

The Cuban and Venezuelan presidents were to have talks on Tuesday, with energy expected to be a key topic.

With its oil-burning plants, Cuba relies on Venezuelan imports while its own crude, which is high in sulfur, requires costly cleaning to be used.

Venezuela, Latin America's only OPEC member, delivers 53,000 barrels of crude a day to Cuba. It is also a major supplier to the United States.

It seems they have not forgotten the bay of pigs, and are determined to not have a repeat performance..

not necessary though...if we had been serious in the bay of pigs, and given the landing forces the backup they needed, all this would be a moot point..

and as far as preperations, look at switzerland, who have underground tunnels/shelters for nearly their entire population, and where every single adult male is required to keep a rifle in his closet and is considered part of the emergency guard..

"Service in the Swiss military is compulsory for all males from the age of 20 through 42. Switzerland does not maintain a standing army, however, so service is for relatively short periods of training. Because rifles, uniforms, and other equipment are kept at home, Switzerland can totally mobilize within about 48 hours. If mobilized, the Swiss armed forces would include some 625,000 people, although the size of the force was being reduced in the mid-1990s."

Yes, Switzerland is stronger for their preparations. In fact, Hitler dared not invade Switzerland in World War II knowing that it would be a military quagmire.

that, and ya don't invade a bank..

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Originally posted by Amvet91Alpha:
that, and ya don't invade a bank..

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Especialy if its your bank, lol

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Originally posted by TOW Gunner:
Yes, Switzerland is stronger for their preparations. In fact, Hitler dared not invade Switzerland in World War II knowing that it would be a military quagmire.

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thank goodness he didn't think of that when he invaded Russia and created a second front.

The times we have come closest to nuclear war in the last century both revolved around Cuba. There was the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs.

It really makes no sense to have a hostile nation 90 miles off our coast when we could have peacefully coopted it long ago - with Levi's , MacDonalds and Pizza Huts like we always do.

When we allow a large group of foreign nationals carte blanche immigration because of that magical word "anticommunism" that group will soon learn how to leverage our democratic institutions but - even though they acquire citizenship - they will use that newly found power to further their own nationalistic agenda which will not always coincide with the best interests of the United States.

It seems to me that the only reason we have not commercially invaded and conquered Castro's Cuba is because of the Cuban expatriate influence and the knee jerk response to Communism on the part of some of our leaders.

There seems to be a deep seated desire to Punish Castro even if we have to cut the nose to spite the face. We can't let personal grudges determine the foreign policy of the entire nation.

There are some governments and dictators we support who make Castro look like a choir boy by comparision.

We don't have to use military might to take Cuba. There are other ways to get them and they will love us for it. Communism is all they've got and they are yearning for a different way.

Oh I think the embargo should have been lifted a looong time ago.