Vile! - US State department disrespect for death of Cuban leader's wife

Vilma Espín and her husband Raúl Castro standing next to Che Guevara

If there is one thing that the leaked US State Department cables published by WikiLeaks have shown, the World's self-appointed defender of transparency, freedom and 'human rights', the United States government, has proven to be riddled with double standards and hypocrisy in its actions. It will only push for the promotion of its version of human rights when it suits its interests, which tend to be the interests of US big business. When it hates a country, usually a poor place without any resources accessible to US large corporations, then the US State Government is, you could say, un-Christian, to say the least.

Case in point is the unpublicised cable that recently appeared on the WikiLeaks site giving the US 'Special Interests Office' in Havana's view of the death of the Cuban president Raúl Castro's wife Vilma Espin. All I can say is that the unsubstantiated allegations and innuendos are vile and grossly inaccurate. The level of hate and disdain displayed by Michael Parmly, author of the cable, towards the Castro brothers is impalpable.

Parmly's vile comments include doubting that Fidel Castro would care very much about
the loss of Vilma Espin or much else beyond his own personal legacy, insinuating that Raúl Castro and his late wife (who had been comrade-in-arms and partners since their guerilla days in the 1950s) had been 'estranged for the past few years', relishing the thought that the loss of his wife would cause Raúl Castro to 'lose his bearings' and opening the way for leadership instability to precipitate regime change, as well as seeing Espin's death serving as 'a dry run for other much-more-anticipated deaths in the ruling family'. Parmly, a US government official, is clearly stating that he would like to see the Cuban leadership dead - how Christian of him!

The most hypocritical and unsubstantiated belief Parmly states in this cable is that he says 'yes, both Fidel and Raul Castro are mass murderers and cruel leaders, but Raul always has had a parallel reputation as a family man.' What the...? First of all, how are they mass murderers and evil? Where are the mass graves to testify this? Obviously, based on the picture painted by the US State Department cables we have seen so far, the Castro brothers are 'evil' solely because they have tirelessly work against US government actions and business interests. Judging by the nature of this cable, do you blame them? And what's with Parmly dismissing the Castro brothers as 'mass murderers and evil' anyway? The US government should not criticise as that has never stopped it supporting many dictators and leaders who were actually mass murderers and evil. And how would you describe US military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan then? If that isn't mass murder, then what is? If you don't believe me, then check out the classified documents allegedly leaked by the very brave Bradley Manning to WikiLeaks.

Bradley Manning

Talking of which, disturbing reports are coming out that Manning, the US military intelligence analyst who, being a person of moral principle was disgusted at his own government and military's responsibility in the hidden deaths of many innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan, decided to uncover this to the World for the sake of transparency (central to a democracy like the USA) and bring justice to those who perpetrated such crimes, is now facing 52 years in jail for his actions and is reportedly being held in inhumane conditions akin to torture. This is despite not having been formally charged with any 'crime' as yet. Furthermore, friends, family and supporters of Manning, have been facing US government harassment so as to shut them up - a tactic well used in all 'evil' totalitarian systems. What is also disgusting is that opponents to dropping the US military's 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy requiring gay US military personnel to keep quiet about their sexuality or else risk discharge, have used Manning, who happens to be gay, as an example that having homosexuals in such military positions threaten national security!

It says a lot about a society which will seek to severely punish and torture someone with a humane conscience but will reward those who kill innocent people in Iraq or Afghanistan. As his supporters' website states: exposing war crimes is not a crime.