FORMER Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, has accused the United States (U.S.)
FORMER Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, has accused the United States (U.S.) of pushing for what would become nuclear wars against Iran and North Korea in a rare televised interview.
Castro spoke on Cuban television on a show called “Roundtable.” He appeared in a dark blue tracksuit worn over a plaid shirt and sat on a swivel chair that he shifted at points during the interview.
According to the Cable News Network (CNN), Castro blamed the United States, not North Korea, for the sinking of a South Korean ship that killed 46 sailors. The incident was orchestrated to stir conflict in the region.
The former Cuban leader, who is 83, said he was disappointed that China and Russia didn’t veto a UN Security Council resolution for additional sanctions against Iran for its alleged illegal nuclear programme.
Iran, he said, has been building up for a confrontation for 30 years. He added that if the United States attacks Iran, it would meet a resistance unlike anything it faced in Iraq.
“A war there can not avoid becoming nuclear,” Castro said.
One subject Castro did not mention during the hour-long appearance was Monday’s release of political prisoners.
His remarks were based on a column published on Monday of a possible nuclear war involving the United States and Iran, sparked by conflict over that country’s nuclear activities.
News of Castro’s television appearance appeared to resonate with some residents in the Cuban capital.
“(It’s) extraordinary because we want to feel him, hear him, see him, because we haven’t seen him in a long time,” said Havana resident, Ruben Morrejon Fernandez.
Monday’s appearance was the second Castro sighting in the past few days. Three photographs of Castro surfaced on Saturday on a pro-government blog, which claimed the photos were taken last Wednesday.
The set of three photos appear to show the ailing Castro meeting with people during “a surprise visit” at the National Centre of Scientific Investigations in Havana, according to a blog published by a columnist, Rosa C. Baez.
Castro has been largely out of sight since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006. He ceded power to younger brother, Raul Castro, in February 2008.
The elder Castro’s appearance follows last week’s announcement of the largest release of Cuban political prisoners in more than a decade.
Separately, from prosecutors in Los Angeles to justice officials in Washington, the Swiss decision to free renowned film maker, Roman Polanski, has been described as a disappointment and to some, an injustice.
The Swiss, for their part, described Polanski as “a free man.”
The decision by the Swiss government to set Polanski free dealt another twist in a sex case that has spanned three decades and two continents. Whether the case continues depends largely on where Polanski travels.
A warrant for his arrest remains active, effectively barring the 76-year-old from returning to the U.S., which he fled in 1978 on the eve of sentencing for a charge of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
“The United States believes that the rape of a 13-year-old child by an adult is a crime, and we continue to pursue justice in this case,” State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said.
Meanwhile, nearly 60 per cent of American voters said they lack faith in President Barack Obama, according to a public opinion poll.
The results of the Washington Post/ABC News poll are a reversal of what voters said at the start of Obama’s presidency 18 months ago when about 60 per cent expressed confidence in his decision-making.
Confidence in Obama is at a new low but the poll found that his numbers are still higher than lawmakers of either major party four months ahead of the November congressional elections.
Asked how much confidence they have in Obama to make the right decisions for the country’s future, 58 per cent of respondents said “just some” or “none.”
Sixty-eight per cent expressed the same sentiments about Democrats in Congress and 72 per cent said the same of Republicans.
The Post said problems in the housing industry, sluggish job growth and other economic issues may have taken a toll on Obama’s approval rating.
Just 43 per cent of all Americans, including a third of Democrats, now say they approve of the job Obama is doing on the economy, while 54 per cent disapprove.
The survey also found wide anti-incumbent sentiment with 62 percent of voters saying they were not inclined to support their current representative.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs in the November 2 election as well as 36 of the 100 Senate seats.
Democrats now control both houses of Congress, but a slight majority of those polled said they would prefer to have Republicans in control to serve as a check on Obama’s policies.
The poll of 1,288 people was conducted July 7-11 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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ABC News This Week Political Roundtable Pt. 1