14 May 2002
Powell Says Cuba Has Biological Weapons Research Capacity
(But that doesn't mean it actually has weapons, he notes) (560)
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States believes that
Cuba has a biological offensive research capability, but "we didn't
say that it actually had such weapons."
"This is not a new statement, I think that it is a statement that has
been made previously," Powell said May 13, speaking with journalists
while traveling to a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Iceland. Cuba
has the capacity and the capability to conduct biological weapons
research, he said.
Following are excerpts from Powell's briefing:
(begin excerpts)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Reykjavik, Iceland)
May 14, 2002
Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell
Press Briefing on Board Plane
En Route Gander, Newfoundland
May 13, 2002
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, on a different subject, but staying within
the hemisphere, as you know, former President Carter is in Cuba today.
He has said today, that although he got a briefing from State
Department personnel and perhaps from other government personnel
before he left, that no one had briefed him that Cuba had BW
[biological weapons] or CW [chemical weapons] capability. He said he
asked specifically if Cuba had been involved in sharing information
that could be used for terrorist activities. He was told no. Do you
know anything about the briefings he got and why this might have been
so even though others at the Department have actually said this?
POWELL: I don't know what briefings President Carter may have
received. I'm sure we made ourselves available to him. As Under
Secretary Bolton said recently, we do believe that Cuba has a
biological offensive research capability. We didn't say that it
actually had such weapons, but it has the capacity and the capability
to conduct such research. This is not a new statement, I think that it
is a statement that has been made previously. So Under Secretary
Bolton's speech which got attention on this issue again wasn't
breaking new ground as far as the United States' position on this
subject goes.
Q: After this very contentious Likud party meeting, do you believe
that Sharon will still hold to establishing a Palestinian state
eventually? And what if Netanyahu wins in the election?
A: I will let Prime Minister Sharon speak for himself, of course, but
my understanding is that he is still committed to the eventual
creation of a Palestinian state that will live side by side at peace
with the Jewish state, Israel. The Likud Party committee meeting was
that -- a committee meeting. It was noted that before they took the
vote, in a straw poll, some 80-odd percent of the members of that
committee also said that ultimately they probably would have to deal
with the reality of a Palestinian state. So I think we have to keep
moving in that direction and make sure that remains our vision to see
if we can move forward to create, through peaceful discussions and
negotiations, a Palestinian state, that will live secure and in peace
with the Jewish state, Israel, that also will be able to live secure
and at peace with its neighbors.
(end excerpts)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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