Because of its importance, I am prioritizing this subject,
among others.
I am not going to deny that the prerogatives of power,
whether real, relative or fictitious, have an influence on
human beings, because they were all educated this way, right
from the remotest of times of the species.
I did not arrive in just a minute at what I am thinking
today about power, but I consider that this is a matter of
consistent thinking. I attribute the modest contribution of
our Revolution to the fact that our responses to questions
have never regressed, despite the harsh reality imposed upon
us by the empire’s brutal blockade.
In the reflection published on July 31st, I
explained what it meant for me to have spent a year
gathering information and meditating in depth on the vital
problems which today threaten our species as never before.
On July 24th , the Russian news agency
Ria Novosti published the following information:
Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, a defense expert,
stated that the main instrument of the US policy is the
economic, financial, technological and military dictate.
By implementing this, the US is trying to secure the
world’s hegemony for itself. Its national security strategy
explicitly indicates the necessity of guaranteeing
sustainable access, in other words, controlled access, to
the key regions of the planet, strategic communications and
global resources. It is a strategy that has been turned
into a law, and this brings us to the conclusion that in the
future the United States will face even tougher conflicts
with Russia, China and India.
Washington insists on building a system capable of
neutralizing the nuclear potential of Moscow and Peking, its
strategic rivals, in order to achieve military superiority.
The United States wants to deploy its anti-missile shield
not just in Europe but also in other parts of the world, to
see what is going on in Russia and China. Likewise, it is
seeking to increase its offensive arsenal at a pace that
surpasses even that which was followed during the Cold War.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO lost the
status it had as a defensive organization when it was
founded in 1949, and was transformed into a powerful and
aggressive instrument at the service of the world oligarchy,
eager to dominate the world. The new strategic concept of
the Alliance, approved on April 1999 as a result of the
efforts made by the United States, comprises new functions
and expands its sphere of responsibilities to include the
entire world, not just the North Atlantic. The current
Secretary General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, frequently
visits Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The Alliance has
started to ignore International Law and the UN Security
Council. Meanwhile, the United States promotes the
expansion of NATO and refuses to ratify the Treaty on
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), taking on the
right to act outside of any limitations and disposing of
troops as it wishes.
The United States would do anything in its power to
prevent Russia from being an autonomous player. The debates
on anti-missile defence, Iran and Kosovo, have not generated
any formulas for compromise.
It is important for Russia to consolidate its
positions and recover its geopolitical potential. Early on
the 1970’s, when Moscow had achieved nuclear parity with
Washington, the latter became aware of the fact that it
could not beat Moscow militarily and accepted to negotiate
on equal terms. Consequently, in 1972, the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty (ABMT) as well as all other subsequent
Strategic Arms Limitations Treaties (SALT) were signed.
Strength is the only thing that the United States cares
about. If it feels to be in a stronger position, it will
never make concessions to anyone.
In order to neutralize the plans for world
hegemony it is necessary to build an alternative pole, and
we already have the foundations to do so: the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO).
In fact, it appears to be rather incorrect to
speak about the United States strength. The United States
has military power, a vigorous economy and an enormous
amount of hard currency which it can mint in unlimited
quantities, but the geopolitical level of the country is
extremely low. The United States inspires very little
political confidence in the rest of the world.
In 1999, China and Russia stated before the UN General
Assembly the need to preserve the Anti Missile Defense
Treaty of 1972. All nations voted in favour of the proposal
except for four: the United States, Israel, Albania and
Micronesia. The result bears witness to the United States’
total international isolation.
Without the participation of Russia, it would be
impossible to resolve the situation that has taken shape in
the Middle East, the Balkans, the Korean Peninsula and other
regions of this planet. This also holds true for China,
which is able to put up to the pressures exerted by the
United States. China enjoys great prestige in the world; it
has a powerful economy and a strong currency.
The SCO ought to recruit new allies and combine the
potential of those countries which want to and are capable
of implementing an autonomous policy. First, it is
necessary to officially proclaim the rejection against the
United States world hegemony. Second, China and Russia must
denounce the deployment of the US anti-missile defense
system before the UN Security Council, as an action altering
the architecture of global security and threatening the
entire international community. China, India and Russia
could form a united front in the face of the United States’
dictates. It is also possible to propose the stabilization
of the global financial system as a task. Within the SCO
framework, a novel philosophy could be formulated, based on
the harmony among civilizations and on the rational use of
natural resources. The majority of States will surely
support such measures, of that I am convinced. Thus, a new
political pole will come into being, the pole of peace. The
SCO mission is to create a new model of development for
human civilization.
Only an alliance of civilizations could oppose the
United States’ empire: the Russian civilization whose orbit
includes the Community of Independent States (CIS); the
Chinese, the Indian, the Islamic and the Latin American
civilizations. It is an immense space where we could create
more equitable markets, our own stable financial system, our
collective security mechanisms and our philosophy, giving
priority to the intellectual development of man in the face
of western modern civilization, which emphasizes material
goods, and measures success by the amounts of mansions,
yachts and restaurants people have. Our mission is to
reorient the world towards justice and intellectual and
spiritual growth.
So much for Ivashov’s essential thoughts, as published
by Ria Novosti.
We have been able to find out that General Leonid
Ivashov is Vice President of the Academy on Geopolitical
Affairs; he was Secretary of the Council of Defence
Ministers of the Community of Independent States (CIS) and
Chief of the Military Cooperation Department at the Russian
Federation Ministry of Defence. On September 11, 2001, the
day when the tragic events in New York occurred, which
served as a pretext to define the basis of the genocidal
policy of the United States almost 6 years ago, General
Ivashov was the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
He is a truly well-informed man. It is worthwhile that our
people know about his views.
The concern which the Cuban Revolution has always had
about the education of the people is obvious. Judging by my
own experience, I soon came across the idea that only
conscience could prevail over the instincts that govern us.
Technological advances today speak of the possibility of
manipulating the functions of the cells in the human brain.
What good would all this do in a world ruled by the
commercial value of goods and services? Who will have the
final say in this regard? By this means and through the
shameless brain drain, a phenomenon we should adamantly
continue to discuss, the most valuable part of the human
being could be destroyed: a human being's education via its
conscience.
Laboratories can produce medicines to save lives, which
could be something of great social value provided such
products are available to all. But laboratories are also
manufacturing all kinds of weapons that could put an end to
human life.
Commercial advertising and consumerism are incompatible
with the survival of the species. After all possible
calculations, you will realize that natural resources,
space, climate, weather, and the system cannot yield any
other outcome, given their pace and the direction in which
they are moving.
Fidel Castro Ruz
August 3, 2007.
7:15 p.m.
