On what basis did the U.S. State Dept. reject Cuba's offer of assistance to flooded New Orleans on 9/5/05?

Question

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2220/stories/20051007004301800.htm

Cuba announced that it would send 1,000 doctors and 36 tonnes of medicine and equipment to the disaster zone. Castro ordered the doctors to be on stand by near the Havana international airport to board the flight to Louisiana at short notice.

The Bush administration rejected the offer of aid from Iran too. In a move smacking of pettiness, a German Air Force plane carrying supplies for the needy in Louisiana was not allowed to land by the U.S. authorities.

Answer 1

Cuba is a communist country, and we are clinging to an old stance that we took during the cold war. The stance itself is not the problem, the problem is that the US does open dealings with China, which is a communist country. We are picking and choosing which countries to associate with and setting a ridiculous double standard. Once Castro's stench is gone though, things will change down there. Besides, what could Cuba do to help us?

Answer 2

The US sometimes acts foolishly. How many more lives would have been saved if those doctors had been allowed entry. Cuba has a plethora of well educated, trained doctors; as a matter of fact she has a country full of educated professionals. Perhaps the U.S. should do more to increase its number of educated professionals, eliminate student loans and make them all GRANTS, and do more to educate the masses, rather than a select few. I applaud Cuba for its offer. I deplore the very idea of denying help to those who need it most no matter WHERE it comes from.

Answer 3

The U.S. has not done any business with cuba in nearly 50 years, if we accepted aid we would need to reconsideer the fact that we do not trade with them, the fact that we a re actually enemies, etc etc.
The world would look to us and wonder why we accepted help from the poor little country that we never help out. It was all a political ploy by Castro to gain international support.
If Cuba really had the resources to spare, the people wouldnt be trying to get to the U.S. by any way possible.

Your welcome

Answer 4

also FEMA turned up late and what FEMA agents turned up turned trucks of water away and tankers of fuel and cut down power lines ,the local sherriff had to put it back up and put armed police along the line to stop them doing it again .you may think what a load of BS but i FEMA makes a situation worse they get more power and more fuding and that is exactly what happened click mon this link http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8368371786391565455&q=alex+jones+katrina and see a main stream news programe where the emergency management president of new orleans actually informs of this and calls for more help in the couple of days after the event.

Answer 5

What basis??

Well, let's see, we don't AGREE with their forms of government. How would it look if we didn't agree with the governments and the ways they treat their citizens, but yet supported them and their appearance of being "good" by allowing them to give us aid?

But really I think it all has to do with a bunch of men dropping their pants and using rulers to see who's is the largest. . .

Answer 6

I didn't check out the link, but I would venture to assume because Cuba is run by a Communist government and we have had an embargo on them for decades.

Answer 7

The President didn't what to risk losing Cuban exile support in Florida.

Answer 8

Prolly the basis that Cuba couldn't really do anything to help anyway.

Kinda like Chavez can't really help poor people in New England with "free" heating oil.

Political stunts.

Answer 9

Let me break it down real simple.... If you accept money let say from a drug dealer it is considered blood money is that simple enough.

Answer 10

I never get amazed by how gulliable people can be!!