Fidel Castro has slammed the United States for the way its forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, saying there is no excuse for “assassinating” an unarmed man surrounded by his family.
Bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, was killed on Sunday in a raid on his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, 50 kilometers outside Islamabad. U.S. special forces burst into bin Laden’s room and shot him in the head. A woman, identified in some reports as bin Laden’s wife, was also in the room and was shot in the leg but not killed.
“Whatever the actions attributed to bin Laden, the assassination of an unarmed human being surrounded by his family constitutes an abhorrent act,” the 84-year-old Cuban revolutionary wrote in an opinion piece published in the Cuban media on Thursday.
“The fact that he [bin Laden] was killed and buried at sea indicate fear and insecurity, and turn him into an even more dangerous person,” Castro said.
After the first outburst of euphoria, U.S. society will criticize the methods used to kill bin Laden, Castro predicted.
The raid “offended Pakistan’s national dignity, violated its laws and desecrated the traditions of this Muslim country,” the Cuban revolutionary added.
Castro emphasized that Cuba has the moral right to express its opinion on this delicate issue, adding that the Cuban revolution “was always against actions that jeopardize the lives of civilians,” and was an adversary of “any act that lead to the death of innocents.”
HAVANA, May 5 (RIA Novosti)