Fidel Castro: The New Fletcher Prouty?

[The Internet] has put an end to secrets… We are seeing a high level of investigative journalism that is within reach of the whole world.

— Fidel Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party (Cuba)

Those who have seen the JFK movie are, no doubt, intimately familiar with the ominous, deep ops know-it-all Mr. X. The role was, of course — played by the veteran actor Donald Sutherland — and the character was based upon the real life U.S. Army Colonel Fletcher Prouty. Another star of an Oliver Stone movie and military man, Fidel Castro, seems to be making his own attempt to be a kind of wide-ranging Mr. X of a certain variety, exposing hidden truth and subterranean information for the benefit of all of those who would care to hear. The Commandante seems to have gotten into the business of prognosticating events, exposing elite clandestine gatherings, and in general opining about the dark and shadowy forces that are coalescing behind closed doors.

Fidel recently invited the Lithuanian investigative journalist Daniel Estulin down to Havana to meet with him — and his entourage — and entertain questions from the Cuban press. Additionally, El Comandante has foretold of a U.S war with Iran, that he has even suggested could culminate in a planetary nuclear holocaust. Fidel of the crystal ball, is indeed a rejuvenated politico and world meta-theorist/observer; and although I don’t recall Lenin’s oeuvre talking about reading the tea leaves; with Marxist-Leninism, subsisting at an all-time nadir, who knows what tracts Fidel is drawing intellectual sustenance and inspiration from these days.

It’s been reported that Wikileaks is an online favorite, and that Fidel believes in the world wide web as a vehicle to break through the consolidated media empires that exist throughout the world. He speaks openly of the “world dictatorship”, and creating an international force to militate against it; and is optimistic that despite all of said dictatorship’s machinations and malevolent intentions that a shared world of plenty — can be had by all.

Julia Sweig, Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, doesn’t think that Fidel is trying to remold himself as a deep political observer, but; instead, as an international statesman of some dignity and repute. According to Dr. Sweig, “Fidel is at an early stage of reinventing himself as a senior statesman, not as head of state, on the domestic stage, but primarily on the international stage, which has always been a priority for him.” Additionally, Sweig opines, “Matters of war, peace and international security are a central focus: nuclear proliferation, climate change, these are the major issues for him, and he’s really just getting started, using any potential media platform to communicate his views. He has time on his hands now that he didn’t expect to have. And he’s revisiting history, and revisiting his own history.”

But not only reading history, Fidel seems to be reading through the lines of history, to ferret out the hidden facts and truth; and uncover surreptitious information. Combing history for the grains, that many other respectable observers might move right on past, or leave entirely out. This, of course, does not describe simply a statesman, but a whistle-blower of sorts on what Fidel deems to be dishonorable intentions and impeachable targets. Only time will tell if he can establish any credibility in this new vocation, but it’s certainly an unexpected role for a man who just recently told an interviewer from The Atlantic, “I’m still a dialectical materialist.” Fidel certainly dances to the beat of his own drummer, when it comes to the fraternity of dialectitions, though.

Sean Fenley is an independent progressive who would like to see the end of the dictatorial duopoly of the so-called two party adversarial system. He would also like to see some sanity brought to the creation and implementation of current and future U.S. military, economic, foreign and domestic policies. Read other articles by Sean.

11 comments on this article so far ...

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  1. MichaelKenny said on September 13th, 2010 at 9:12am #

    An early stage of reinventing himself as a senior statesman? Only time will tell? Early? Time? Fidel is 84! He has little time left and he’s unlikely to get beyond the early stages of anything. Always a showman, the old boy is probably just having fun!

  2. bozh said on September 13th, 2010 at 9:17am #

    Gold mine is now the planet; race for it at least since the rulers of four corners of known world.
    The diff now is that there are no corners, but an orb; an orb much, much too small for all biota and people.
    No empire to date had obtained it. That’s why, US asocialists are uniting with like minded people even in muslim lands. And pal’ns, iraqis, pashtuns feel it.

    China, russia, venezuella, bolivia, cuba, korea [not splitting korea in two], vietnam and some euro lands appear to be moving towards a more egalitarian structures of society and governance.
    So, forces of darkness are meeting forces of light. We shall see whether finally– after 10 k yrs– sanity, which had been taken away from us by priests, prevails!
    This simlicity cannot be rendered simpler; every child over seven wld understand it if not previously semanticly made blind! tnx

  3. David Silver said on September 13th, 2010 at 4:22pm #

    Socialist Cuba is indeed the hope of the planet

  4. teafoe2 said on September 13th, 2010 at 5:25pm #

    Fidel has long been known to many supporters of the Cuban Revolution as a man with a complex and sometimes paradoxical personality. Perhaps the most paradoxical aspect of Fidel the Man has been his longstanding business and apparently personal relationship with IDF arms merchant cum covert action mastermind Rafi Eitan, who it is reported has been permitted at Fidel’s insistence to continue to lease some highly profitable agricultural real estate which Fidel inherited.

    Another quirky aspect has been the Cuban Communist Party’s early failure to realize the importance of Cuban music, and the need to provide employment and performance opportunities for Cuban musicians employed prior to Jan 1 1959 in nightspots catering to the tourist trade. It took several years before the CCP awoke and began to correct that mistaken policy.

  5. David Silver said on September 14th, 2010 at 12:51pm #

    Viva Cuba Socialista and Fidel

  6. teafoe2 said on September 14th, 2010 at 1:48pm #

    Fidel Castro to light Menorah

    Cuban leader, Israeli Minister Eitan to inaugurate huge Israeli symbol in central Havana square in memory of Holocaust victims

    Cuban ruler Fidel Castro will use an official state ceremony to inaugurate Israel’s symbol – the seven-branch menorah – in a central Havana square, in memory of the Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

    Attending the event will be Castro’s associate, Israeli Minister Rafi Eitan (Pensioners Party).

    Eitan said the idea to set up the memorial was suggested by the Havana Mayor, who is renovating the city’s old quarter.

    The mayor is a professor of history and teaches at the University of Havana. For years, he researched the history of the Jews of Havana, and renovated a series of hotels which were in Jewish ownership. He also renovated the Rachel hotel, which offers its guests Israeli meals.

    Eitan has enormous citrus lands in Cuba, amounting to around the size of Gaza.

    Castro’s door always open

    He set up an enormous real estate project in the country, together with an associate, including 18 residential buildings and a commercial shopping center, at around USD 200 million.

    Until he became a minister in Israel, Eitan would frequently visit Cuba, where he lived in a beautiful villa, and where he would sculpt in the basement.

    Recently, he flew to Cuba to cut off business activities there, as Israeli law demands for members of the government.

    A photograph of Fidel Castro hangs in Eitan’s office. The two met in 1994, when Eitan received a medal for agricultural investment, and from that time Castro’s door has been open to Eitan.

  7. teafoe2 said on September 14th, 2010 at 1:57pm #

    It’s important to be clear that “Rafi” Eitan is not the same individual as the late Rafael “Raful” Eitan who was once Izzy Minister of Defence.

  8. mary said on September 14th, 2010 at 2:12pm #

    **Rather old news?

    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3266051,00.html

    Fidel Castro to light Menorah

    Cuban leader, Israeli Minister Eitan to inaugurate huge Israeli symbol in central Havana square in memory of Holocaust victims

    Ofer Petersburg Published: 06.22.06 **

  9. teafoe2 said on September 14th, 2010 at 3:03pm #

    mary, yes it’s old news to me, but not apparently to Mr David Silver? And probably not to quite a few who continue to equate the Cuban Revolution to Fidelismo?

    To be clear, I unreservedly support the policies of the current Cuban government led by Raul Castro. I’m sure that as in all governments there are mistakes made and persons who put their personal interests ahead of the job they are supposed to be doing but overall the current party leadership seems to be performing very well.

  10. Deadbeat said on September 14th, 2010 at 4:20pm #

    I was one who didn’t know about these links. I appreciate the information. Yet another one of my long held beliefs — crushed 🙂

  11. teafoe2 said on September 14th, 2010 at 5:56pm #

    well that’s the Bad News:)

    the Good News is that Rumba Folklorico is vivito y coleando in Cuba, also in Miami FL and Berkeley CA, the latter the HQ of such subversives as Rev. Gladys “Bobi” Cespedes, her brother Guillermo C aka Weely, Jesus Diaz, and many others.

    But Cuba is the source, La Havana & Matanzas province across the bay. While North American jazz is a musical development of equal historical import, the cultural context from with jazz emerged no longer exists, having been Urban Renewed and Integrationed to death. These deplorable events have resulted in jazz ceasing to develop, if not absolutely then at an exponentially slower pace than at any time in its prior history.

    But Cuban music has continued to evolve. Of course there are many styles/trends/genres within “La Musica Cubano”, which combines European, African, Chinese and Indigenous roots into a whole menu of blends, including the style copied by Puerto Rican musicians in Nueva York marketed under the label “Salsa”.

    I myself am most interested in the genre known as Rumba Folklorico, and a spinoff from it that is most often called Conga or Comparsa originally played while marching in processions, serving a social function similar to the Brazilian Batucada or early New Orleans brass bands. A development of Conga called the Mozambique was developed by drummer/composer Pello de Afrikan.
    A relatively recent innovation in the spectrum of Rumba styles is the Guarapachangeo, which allows all members of the percussion ensemble to improvise much more freely than in the traditional Guaguanco, Yambu or Columbia styles.

    There are also traditional Yoruba forms like the Bata, accent on final syllable, played for Santeria ceremonies. There are also a number of Secret Societies which pass on styles and rhythm patterns from generation to generation, but which are never played in the presence of non-initiates. The basic pattern underlying the Abaqua society’s music which is based on the fact that twelve can be considered as four times three, or alternately as three times four, has passed into the “public domain” and is familiar to all Cubanos.

    The main thing in all Cuban music is the Clave rhythm:) Never forget about it:)