U.S. sees 'transition' for Cuba post-Castro

WASHINGTON — The United States has big plans for Cuba once Fidel Castro is gone for good.

The administration is prepared to assist a pro-democracy transition government in Cuba — assuming one materializes in the aftermath of communist rule.

Just how far the administration is willing to go in support of a democratic outcome was underscored in an official document made public just three weeks before Castro, citing an intestinal ailment, relinquished power to his younger brother, Raul.

The document was written by the Commission for Assistance for a Free Cuba, appointed by President Bush and chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It was a follow-up to a similar report issued two years ago.

The two reports, neither of which has received much attention, focus on the tasks that the commission believes United States should address in the post-Castro era, so long as Cuban authorities are agreeable.

Very little about Cuba's presumed needs escaped the commission's gaze.

As the panel sees it, the administration should "assist with garbage trucks" to ensure proper trash collection and disposal and water trucks to help thirsty communities.

The aid program also should provide "soap, disinfectant and cleaning materials to vulnerable groups."

In addition, Uncle Sam's envoys should be on hand to suggest options if food prices on the island spiral out of control.

Obviously, the report also addresses the major issues that Cuba could confront — issues that help define a nation. It recommends U.S. help in the dissolution of Cuba's one-party system and its replacement by "a level playing field for a competitive political process." It also urges the establishment of an American training program on the principles and functioning of a free press.

The administration's byword these days for Cuba is "transition," which appears almost 400 times in the more recent of the two reports, 95 pages long.

In contrast, Cuban officials scoff at the notion that a transition is needed, insisting that a seamless communist "succession" from Fidel Castro will take place.

But the administration sees the prospective demise of Castro, relegated to the sidelines weeks before his 80th birthday, as an opportunity that must not be squandered.