- (CNSNews.com) - Cuba is developing biological weapons
in order to avert an attack it believes the U.S. is planning, a State Department
official told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday.
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- "They are afraid that [the U.S. is] going to use
the weapons of mass destruction or some nuclear weapons [against them]
and that gives them the cause," Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence
and Research Carl Ford told the Senate Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
"I think that's a terrible mistake."
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- Ford said recent intelligence gathered from Cuba showed
evidence that such weapons are being developed.
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- "Clearly that capability is there," Ford said.
"We've seen them working with bad things that make biological weapons
because they don't like us."
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- The hearing followed recent remarks made by Under Secretary
of State John Bolton, who said Cuba is both producing biological weapons
and selling that expertise to rogue states. Bolton is expected to testify
before the subcommittee sometime this month.
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- Ford also repeated the comments he made to the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee in March. "Cuba has at least a limited,
developmental, offensive biological warfare and research and development
effort," Ford said at Wednesday's hearing.
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- Because of "robust biotechnology infrastructures"
that Cuba and other countries have instituted, the U.S. intelligence community
is having difficulties in deciphering the development of weapons, or efforts
in medical and agricultural advances, Ford added.
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- "Cuba's sophisticated denial and deception practices
make our task even more difficult," Ford said. "That said, we
have a sound basis for our judgment that Cuba has a limited, developmental,
offensive biological warfare research and development effort."
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- During a recent speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro denied
the allegations, said Americans should not fear an attack from Cuba and
that the U.S. could count on the communist nation's support in the war
against terrorism.
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- Castro added that he was "hurt" by allegations
that Cuba supported terrorism or was producing "weapons of mass destruction."
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- "In our country, no one has ever thought of developing
such weapons," Castro said. "Our scientists have been educated
for the sacred mission of protecting life and not destroying it."
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- Those comments marked a change in Castro's position from
last year when, during a trip to Iran, he said Cuba and Iran were working
together to "bring America to its knees."
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