Fidel Castro shows no sign of obliging the US
By BBC State Department correspondent, John Leyne.
BBC News Online. Tuesday, 14 August, 2001,
12:06 GMT 13:06 UK
The United States has made a birthday wish for one of its oldest enemies.
As the Cuban leader Fidel Castro celebrates his 75th birthday the US State
Department has said that it hopes he moves on soon to retirement.
It is not usually our policy to issue messages on the occasion of birthdays,
said the State Department Deputy spokesman, Philip Reeker.
But, he added: "Inasmuch as Castro has reached the mandatory retirement
age for dictators, we hope he will be moving on soon into retirement."
Bearing in mind the wisdom that often came with age, Mr Reeker went on, they
hoped Mr Castro would acquire the wisdom to let the Cuban people celebrate their
own freedom.
Gruelling schedule
Unfortunately for the State Department, their longest surviving enemy shows
no sign of obliging.
Despite collapsing in the midst of one of his marathon speeches a couple of
months ago, Fidel Castro has been keeping up a gruelling schedule.
The Cuban leader has been spending his birthday in Venezuela.
He held the celebrations a day early, when he pledged to remain faithful to
the revolution for the rest of his life. | 
