A New Barbarism, Hegemonic Delirium

Soviet President Gorbachev announces he intends to withdraw the Soviet training brigade from Cuba. The Cuban Foreign Ministry states that Gorbachev's remarks "were not preceded by consultations or any prior notice, which constitutes inappropriate behavior from the point of view of international standards as well as the agreements existing between the two states." Bush administration officials say they hope this will lead to the downfall of President Castro. On the following day, Soviet Foreign Minister Boris Pankjin says the Soviet Union wants the United States to match the Soviet military withdrawal from Cuba by removing US troops from Guantanamo Bay and halting military maneuvers in the region. Responding to the Soviet plan to remove troops from Cuba, in a long editorial Granma reports the history of the Soviet brigade in Cuba and its relationship tothe US military occupation of Cuban territory at Guantanamo.The editorial states that "we could be moving toward a world order in which small Third World countries like Cuba, whose social system is not to the liking of the United States, have no alternative except to risk disappearing; and in which there is no room for ideological loyalties or even the most elemental ethicalprinciples, without which our civilization will be threatenedwith the possible emergence of a new barbarism based on US technological might and hegemonic delirium."