Fidel Castro: The Bulgarians Love Bush, Too!

"As if we were living in the happiest of all worlds!" wrote Fidel Castro, describing President Bush's wonderful visit to Albania. Albania is an Eastern European nation that spent decades under the brutal boot heel of the now-extinct Soviet Union (USSR). Albanians know firsthand what real dictators and oppression are. During President Bush's recent visit there, Albanians lavished Mr. Bush with praise and adoration, a stark contrast to his reception in some other countries. The positive reception Mr. Bush got in formerly-communist Albania has got currently-communist neighbor Fidel Castro feeling somewhat confused. "Bush is craving after affection. He fully enjoyed his reception without protests in Bulgaria," Mr. Castro wrote yesterday. Whoa! The Bulgarians love Mr. Bush, too?!? Say, that's wondeful! If the Soviet Union was still intact, former client state Cuba would still be sucking at the teat of their war machine. (Is that a divisive statement? Oh dear.) Memories of past oppression are fstill resh in Albania, but not as fresh as the memories being formed even now by the lucky citizens of Fidel Castro's Cuban Paradiso. Cuba is not, by the way, the happiest of all worlds. The military there devotes a lot of time patroling beaches to prevent citizens from leaving. I mean, escaping. While the United States is currently embroiled in a debate over how to handle the huge influx of people dying to get into the U.S., Cuban authorities work overtime to force their own people to stay there. Kind of like the old East Germany did, ya know? Viva Cuba! Thanks, Mr. Castro, for a wonderful speech. Viva Fidel! Mr. Castro's words at La Prensa Latina Related: Since the end of Soviet backing, Cuba appears to have largely abandoned monetary support for guerrilla movements that typified its involvement in regional politics in Latin America and Africa, though it maintains relations with several guerrilla and terrorist groups and provides refuge for some of their members in Cuba. More...