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In his first newspaper column since stepping down Tuesday, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro opened ''ideological fire'' against Washington and the candidates for the White House, saying President Bush is looking to annex Cuba.Castro began writing columns last year under the title Reflections by the Commander in Chief.He stepped down after 49 years at Cuba's helm,and so Friday morning's editorial had a new title:Reflections by Comrade Fidel.Now the column's logo shows him not in military fatigues,but a dapper suit.''I had planned to stop writing these reflections for at least 10 days,'' he said."But I didn't have the right to keep quiet so long.We have to open ideological fire against them.''He began his column by noting that the anxiety over Cuba's closely watched National Assembly meeting Sunday had left him exhausted. On Monday, the night his letter stepping down was posted on Cuban news sites,he slept like never before.The National Assembly meets Sunday to select the members and president of the ruling Council of State, the title Castro has officially held since 1976. An ailing Castro withdrew his name from consideration, acknowledging that he's not healthy enough to hold office.''At this moment, I turn to the adversary,'' he wrote"I enjoyed observing the embarrassing position of all the presidential candidates in the United States. One by one, they found themselves forced to proclaim their immediate demands to Cuba, so as not to alienate a single voter.It was as if I were a Pulitzer Prize winner questioning them on CNN about the most delicate political(even personal) issues from Las Vegas, a city ruled by the logic of the roulette and a place any candidate for the presidency needs to visit.'Half a century of blockade was not enough for the chosen few.'Change, change, change!' they shouted in unison.''Castro has his own idea.''I agree. Change!-but in the United States,'' he wrote.'Cuba changed a long time ago and will continue on its dialectical course.'Let us never return to the past!' our people exclaim.'Annexation, annexation, annexation!' the adversary responds.That's what he thinks, deep inside,when he talks about change.''Castro blasted European nations that called for democracy for Cuba as hypocrites lacking in moral authority.''Immediately, the few European powers still allied to that system proclaimed the same demands.In their opinion, the time had come to dance to the music of democracy and liberty,something that-from the days of Torquemada-they never really knew,'' he said, referring to Tomás de Torquemada, Spain's first inquisitor in the 1480s."Their colonialism, and the neocolonialism of entire continents, from which they extract energy, raw materials and cheap labor, disqualify them from a moral standpoint.''He mentioned Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. decision to shoot down a spy satellite in space and took a jab at President Bush's visit to Africa.''Nobody knows what he's doing there,'' Castro wrote.He closed his piece with a request: that it should never run on the front page again. If they run too long, he said, a simple summary will do.Castro said now he's got work to do-how to record his absentee ballot for Sunday's election.As in the days of Noah....
