Jan 30, 2008 11:38 am US/Eastern
Castro Blasts Bush's Final State Of Union Address
HAVANA (CBS4) ―
Calling President Bush's final State of the Union address a new low point in "demagoguery, lies and total lack of ethics," Cuban leader Fidel Castro blasted the Bush administration in his latest essay.
Entitled the "The Antithesis of Ethics," and published on the front pages of government newspapers, Castro accused the Bush administration of running up U.S. debt and said Washington's wars have increased military spending worldwide by 60 percent.
The 81-year-old, who has not been seen in public for more than a year, went on to say that the U.S. led war in Afghanistan "was the same thing that the U.S.S.R wanted to do, occupy the country with its powerful armed forces that were ultimately defeated when they ran into its customs, religion and cultural differences."
He said Bush has also used the September 11th attacks as an excuse to invade Iraq so the U.S. could occupy (Iraq's) oil installations.
Cuba's ailing leader continues to recover from an undisclosed illness in a secret location. Next month, Parliament will choose a new a council from among its members, which include both Fidel and Raul Castro. Fidel has not said, however, whether he wants to remain the island's official head of state or permanently retire. Also Wednesday, Cuba announced the results of parliamentary elections held Jan. 20, when voters ratified all 614 unopposed candidates for the legislature -- with Raul narrowly topping Fidel in votes -- 99.4 percent to 98.3 percent -- in their Santiago district.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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