Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on October 10, 2003.
Mission statement
It was directed to report to the U.S. president by May 1, 2004, with recommendations on developing a comprehensive program to: (1) "Bring about a peaceful, near-term end to the dictatorshipDictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
;" (2) "Establish democratic institutions, respect for human rights, and the rule of law;" (3) "Create the core institutions of a free economy;" (4) "Modernize infrastructure;" and (5) "Meet basic needs in the areas of health, education, housing, and human services." Five working groups, consisting of agencies with relevant authority and expertise, developed recommendations for the U.S. president in these five topic areas.
Members
The commission has been co-chaired by Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
and Carlos M. Gutierrez.
Commission members include all Cabinet level agencies. The core agencies responsible for day-to-day operations of the Commission include, the Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
(Chairman); Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the President's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Housing...
; Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
; Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
; Secretary of Homeland Security
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created by the...
; the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
, or their designees. The core group undertakes the day-to-day work of the Commission. Any and all U.S. Government agencies may be called upon to provide support to the Commission's work through the authority granted it by National Security Presidential Directive 29 to create and task working groups.
First Report
The commission's first report was released to the public on May 6, 2004. It set out a plan for bringing about change on the island, outlined numerous perceived problem areas and outlined solutions to solve them. http://www.cafc.gov/cafc/rpt/2004/c18165.htmSecond Report
The commission released a second report on July 2006, which built on the findings of the first report. http://www.cafc.gov/cafc/rpt/2006/68097.htm It also issued the "Compact with the Cuban People," which pledged the US government to assist a transition government. http://www.cafc.gov/cafc/rpt/2006/68746.htmResponse of the Cuban Government
Fidel CastroFidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
referred to Rice as a "mad" woman and US Chief of Mission in Havana Michael E. Parmly
Michael E. Parmly
Michael E. Parmly is the former Chief of Mission of the United States Interests Section in Havana, or USINT, a post he held from September 10, 2005 to July 2008. He succeeded James Cason at this post and is predecessor to Jonathan D. Farrar.-Personal life:...
as a "little gangster" and a "bully". Castro has insisted that, in spite of the formation of the Commission, Cuba is itself "in transition: to socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
[and] to communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
" and that it is "ridiculous for the U.S. to threaten Cuba now".
See also
- Cuba-United States relationsCuba-United States relationsCuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. Plans for purchase of Cuba from the Spanish Empire were put forward at various times by United States...
- Opposition to Fidel CastroOpposition to Fidel CastroThe Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is "to replace the current regime with a more democratic form of government". According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent....
- Cuba and democracy
External links
- Official web site
- "Caleb McCarry's Revolutionary Mission In Cuba" (Cox News Service, November 27, 2005)
- "Report to advise Bush on post-Castro Cuba" (ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
) - US Launches $80 Million Pro-Democracy Effort for Cuba from Voice of America NewsVoice of AmericaVoice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...