VOA常速英语2008年-Controversial Castro Legacy Includes Military,

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
20 February 2008

The resignation of Cuba's long-time leader, Fidel Castro, has focused attention on Cuba's sometimes controversial relations with Africa. These began with troops and aid to liberation movements and newly independent governments and continue today in the fields of health, education and sport. Southern Africa correspondent Scott Bobb takes a look at the relationship from our bureau in Johannesburg.

In 1975, Fidel Castro sought to justify¹ the deployment² of 30,000 Cuban troops to Angola, telling the United Nations General Assembly that imperialist nations were trying to gain control of its petroleum³.

Castro said that unlike these forces, Cuba had no interest in Angola's mineral wealth but was supporting Angolan nationalism which he called an "international duty."

Over the next 15 years, several-hundred-thousand Cuban soldiers would fight in Angola and more than 2,000 would die there. They supported the Angolan government in its battle with Jonas Savimbi's UNITA which was backed by South Africa and the United States.

In one of the ironies⁴ of the Cold War, Cuban troops were sent to the Angolan enclave of Cabinda to guard employees of U.S. oil companies against attacks by rebels backed by U.S. allies.

A history professor at the University of Angola in Luanda, Immanuel Mwanza, says most Angolans have good memories of the Cuban presence.

He says in the context of the 1970s, when Angola was being invaded by apartheid South Africa, Cuban aid was fundamental to the nation.

Cuban troops began withdrawing after a 1988 agreement between Angola and South Africa that also led to the independence of Namibia two years later.

Cuban troops were involved in other conflicts on the continent. And at one point Havana had some 60,000 troops stationed in 17 African nations.

Today many Cuban professionals still work in hospitals in Africa's rural areas and in medical schools in the cities. Havana also has educational and sports exchanges with dozens of African nations.

Mwanza of Angola University says this type of aid has been the most useful.

He says we should have learned better from Cuba, how to manage the economy, how a country with few resources can resist. And we should have learned from Cuba's school and health systems.

Analysts⁵ note that Cuba's military and social programs in Africa drained resources from the Cuban economy and, in the late 1980s, consumed some 10 percent of the government's annual budget.

The Cuban presence also placed additional strains on its already poor relations with western nations and their allies.

However, African leaders have not forgotten Cuba's support. And most continue to maintain warm relations with Havana to this day.

1 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

4 ironies   

n.反语( irony的名词复数 )；冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事；嘲弄

参考例句：

• It was one of life's little ironies. 那是生活中的一个小小的嘲弄。
• History has many ironies. 历史有许多具有讽刺意味的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。