By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, 4 (AP) - Cuba has proposed sharing information with the United
States on terrorism but U.S. officials are showing no interest, partly because
of Cuba's forceful opposition to the American air war in Afghanistan.
During U.S.-Cuban migration talks Monday in Havana, the Cuban side called
for a "terrorism information exchange,'' but the U.S. delegation said it
was an inappropriate forum for a discussion of the issue, a State Department
official said.
The official noted that the administration had indicated to Cuba earlier
that it did see the communist neighbor as a potential partner in the
anti-terrorism struggle.
President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) has expressed horror at the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks but he adamantly opposes the U.S.-led military campaign
against Taliban rule in Afghanistan and the al-Qaida terrorist group.
On Nov. 13, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said in a speech at
the U.N. General Assembly that "it would seem that this war has targeted
children, the civilian population and the International Red Cross hospitals and
facilities as enemies.''
The second ranking U.S. official at the United Nations (news - web sites),
James B. Cunningham, described Perez Roque's observation as "hideous.'' The
administration has acknowledged that civilian deaths have occurred as a result
of the air campaign but said that maximum efforts have been made to avoid such
casualties.
In his speech, Perez Roque reaffirmed his government's long-standing
position that the island has been a victim of American-inspired terrorism for 40
years.
"In Cuba there are still relatives of the nearly 3,500 Cubans killed as
a result of aggressions and terrorist acts,'' he said. "Justice is still
demanded by over 2,000 Cubans rendered disabled by aggressions and terrorist
acts.''
Not long after Sept. 11, the United States invited all Latin American
nations, Cuba included, to assist the anti-terror coalition. Cuba provided
documents to the State Department, which officials dismissed as worthless. Cuban
officials were told that the Bush administration was not interested in receiving
additional documents.
Cuba apparently decided to revisit the terrorism issue at the migration
talks because it is the only forum in which the United States and Cuba hold
bilateral talks. The two sides meet every six months or so.
Monday's talks focused on ways to combat the smuggling of Cubans to U.S.
shores by criminal groups.
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said the U.S. delegation voiced
concern about the "prohibitively high fees'' some Cuban migrants are
charged. Others face outright denial of exit visas even though they have
received U.S. visas, he said.
In Havana, Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, who headed the
Cuban delegation, restated his government's concern about a U.S. law that he
said encourages risky and illegal migration to the United States. | 
