SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 04A

LENGTH: 354 words

HEADLINE: BUSH OFFICIAL CRITICIZES PLAN TO EASE CUBAN EMBARGO

BYLINE: Jonathan Riskind, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

BODY:
Easing economic sanctions on Cuba would threaten U.S. businesses and national security, a Bush administration official said yesterday.

For several years, limited cash trade has been allowed with Cuba. Despite a veto threat, Congress is poised to further erode the economic embargo, effectively lifting the ban on travel to Cuba. That would be a mistake, said Otto Reich, head of the State Department's Western Hemisphere affairs bureau.

President Fidel Castro wants to lure U.S. businesses into extending credit to the impoverished country, Reich said. Cuba previously has bought goods on credit from other countries, then refused to pay its debts, he said.

"(Castro) thinks that the United States, which is the big enchilada as far as credits are concerned, that we are going to provide the credits that are going to enable him to pay back all these other guys," Reich said.

Plus, Cuba still poses a threat to the United States, especially if it can regain resources lost with the breakup of the Soviet Union, Reich said, adding that Castro has supported terrorist groups throughout the Western Hemisphere.

"He is a terrorist and has been a terrorist," he said. "He arrived in power by the use of force, and he remains in power by the use of force, and we do not know what capabilities he may have that may pose a threat to the United States."

But Reich's statements don't sway U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Columbus.

Tiberi was among the few House Republicans voted to pass provisions last month in a Treasury Department spending bill lifting Cuba travel restrictions and caps on how much money Cuban-Americans can send relatives in Cuba. He also was one of 30 House Republicans who voted, in a losing cause, to lift the embargo entirely.

Businesses should be able to decide how to conduct trade with Cuba, Tiberi said. And he said he's more concerned about the potential national security threat posed to the United States by China, a full-fledged trading partner, than Cuba.

"I'm still not convinced," Tiberi said of Reich's comments. "Sounds like a little bit of hyperbole, frankly."

jriskind@dispatch.com

GRAPHIC: Photo, Cuba still poses a threat, says Otto Reich of the State Department's, Western Hemisphere bureau.

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2002