Dream Team of U.S. Bashers Gathers in Cuba

Sept. 11, 2006 — -- The elephant not in the room is clearly Cuban President Fidel Castro. More than 50 heads of state and a thousand journalists from around the world convene this week in Havana, Cuba, and Castro is too sick to join them.

If his stomach ailment doesn't kill him, his inability to take advantage of the world stage at his front door just might finish the job.

Just how badly he wants to leave his room in a private Havana hospital, constructed just for the aging strongman in 1999, was revealed when his aides released a formal schedule for the meeting of nonaligned movement nations and included a dinner to be hosted by Fidel Castro this Friday night.

Apparently, it was wishful thinking by someone, or an inadvertent slip, revealing what was supposed to be a surprise. Because shortly afterward a new schedule was published, eliminating Fidel's name from the hosting duties.

And then, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, in charge of the day-to-day arrangements of Cuba's few days in the Third World spotlight, told reporters he "could not guarantee" President Castro's appearance. And that his brother, Raul Castro, the designated replacement since the July 31 announcement of Fidel's illness, is standing by to lead the dedication.

This week's long meeting is highlighted by the arrival of a rogue's gallery of America's irritants, led by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, plus their sudden friend, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- a perfect opportunity for the kind of U.S. bashing Castro has made a specialty for 40 years. Even if he somehow manages to sit on the dais at a farewell dinner for world leaders, certainly one of his dramatic, hours-long tirades appears impossible.

Cuba's message will still be told by its foreign minister, who is ranked third in line in the new Havana-ology that has sprouted during Fidel's surgery and apparent life-threatening illness, the nature of which is considered a "state secret." But Perez Roque, the apex of the new guard at 41 years old, is not expected to deliver the roster of imperialist complaints against America nearly as effectively or entertainingly as Castro.