Published March 1963 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
From the Office of UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD Room 342, Old Senate Office Building, Washington 25, D.C. Volume III -- Number 19 3-1-63 BYRD'S EYE VIEW A Public Service Column by SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD GUANTANAMO NAVAL BASE IS VITAL TO SECURITY OF THE AMERICAS Fidel Castro has been calling for our abandonment of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba--a demand echoed by Mr. Khrushchev--and other Communist leaders. However, there are vital reasons for our determination to hold Guantanamo, and these can best be appreciated by looking at a map. Cuba sits between two main passages to the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico, and the lower South Atlantic for all ocean commerce from European, African, and Mediterranean ports. These routes are the Windward Passage and the Yucatan Passage. Two other routes, Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and the Anegada Passage between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, contain too many shipping hazards and thus do not figure significantly in ocean commerce. Strategically, therefore, Cuba is a gateway to the Caribbean Sea, just as Gibraltar is the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. To the north, the waters between Cuba and the Bahamas are mostly shallow. There is a deep, narrow channel along the north coast of Cuba, but it is interspersed with islets which are hazardous to navigation. Thus, aside from the Yucatan Passage, whi.ch must be entered through the Straits of Florida, the shortest and best route to the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the lower South Atlantic, is through the Windward Passage between the southeastern tip of Cuba and the northern tip of Haiti on Hispaniola Island. Guantanamo Naval Base sits just off the Windward Passage, almost in the center of what comprises the approximate end of the Caribbean Sea and the beginni.ng of the Gulf of Mexico. The Base is also within short flying distance from Mona and Anegada Passages, making it ideal for surveillance and patrol of all sea approaches to the lower South Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, and the Gulf of Mexico. If a hostile power should ever occupy Guantanamo Bay, the Castroites could seal off both the Yucatan and Windward Passages, and perhaps even make our control of the Panama Canal untenable. Moreover, with the area serving as a hostile submarine base, the security of the entire Western Hemisphere would be threatened. Our determination to hold Guantanamo at all cost is therefore based on stern realities, aside from our treaty rights. The strategic importance of Guantanamo is fully appreciated by the Russians and the Castroiteso. In their hands, the Base could constitute a formidable facility for Communist aggression. In our hands, the Base is a continuing assurance of a strong, defensive arm in support of freedom and human dignity. - 30 -