Washington backed off in face of the repercussions of its “rescue” fiasco in Iran. And it is increasingly tangled in the contradiction between declarations of support for those leaving Cuba [in the Mariel boatlift] and efforts to choke off the emigration.

In this situation, the slated landing at Guantánamo could only be seen by a world that is increasingly suspicious of Washington as the provocation it was.

So Washington had to retreat. Carter tried to pass this off as a humanitarian act by suggesting that navy ships slated for the Guantánamo operation were being diverted to help “escort” Cubans to safety in Miami.

But despite Carter’s tactical retreat, the Cuban people know that their solidarity with Nicaragua, Grenada, and the rising struggle in El Salvador makes Cuba a prime target of Washington’s drive to stem the spread of revolution in the region.

That’s why the Cubans intend to go ahead with their giant rally to protest Carter’s threats in Havana on May 17.

Meanwhile, in a further shift, Carter declared May5 that the United States would “provide an open heart and open arms” to those coming from Cuba in the boat lift.

That’s trying to put a good face on an embarrassing situation.  
 
May 16, 1955
“Atomic war isn’t really as bad as you think”—this is the hoax the Eisenhower Administration wants to put over on the American people with the May 5 A-bomb explosion at Yucca Flats, Nevada, proving grounds. The bomb was twice as powerful as the one that murdered 100,000 people at one clip in Hiroshima.

Immediately after the shock wave of the explosion at Yucca Flats had passed, tanks in battle formation pushed forward within 1,000 yards of Ground Zero.

“Most of the troops were youngsters with no combat experience,” reported Anthony Leviero in the May 6 N.Y. Times, “but…they handled the situation as if it were just another conventional exercise.”

The aim of the test is contained in this report. The Administration wants to condition the American people to accept A-bombs with twice the explosive force of the one dropped on Hiroshima as a conventional weapon suitable for use in combat.

The other half of the test was designed to show that it is possible to protect the civilian population from A-bomb explosions.

“Look,” the Administration said in effect, “buildings constructed of brick and shale are only slightly damaged though within 4,700 feet of the explosion. Auxiliary radio stations go into action right after the blast. Dogs come out of shelters wagging their tails, apparently unharmed. White mice run through maze tests with intelligence apparently unimpaired.”  
 
 
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