american didn't see in cuba when he was there and what happened in cuba is tonight's "cuba: the battle" ♪♪ main street in almost any large city in any country south of the border. as it happens, this is one of the main streets in havana, cuba. modern hotels, gambling casinos, exotic restaurants, department stores, and office buildings. this is tourist alley. well known to most american visitors to cuba. to most american visitors, this is cuba. that is, it's all of cuba they usually get to see. it isn't cuba at all, of course. it's a transplanted bit of the united states from the air-conditioned hotels to the table linen and serving dishes in the restaurants. most of what you see on your screen was built by americans, in fact. in havana's case, much of that transplanted bit of north america was built by a very special group of americans who have given too many of the cuban people a somewhat peculiar picture of what life in america must be like. john q. there had a whale of a time in havana back in december of 1958 several weeks before castro reached that city. i'm albert burke. i'll try

cuba. it was finished on january the 8th, 1959 here in havana. the kind of history these people began writing here was not intended to stop here. has the men who led this revolution, there are 19 more chapters to follow. one for each of the countries in south america where conditions are right for this. and this is revolution. this revolutions have gone throughout the world since the end of world war ii, this one in cuba. post and no special honors for distinctions. revolutions have gone until this one, the cuban revolution is very special. it's very special for several reasons, and all of them are pretty much a mystery to this fellow. john q american, here. who is particularly wrapped up in that cuban revolution. he doesn't really understand what happened in cuba back in january of 1959, despite the fact that no other person on this planet has a greater number or a variety of ways to read about, hear about, see about and know about things, the tons of new strengths that he's read through a

travel to cuba. reporter 2: john bolton making a south florida stop today to talk to the cuban-american community. reporter 3: unveiling sweeping changes to cuba policy. reporter 4: a major blow to the new u.s.-cuba relationship. reporter 5: the u.s. has banned flights. reporter 6: all families t leave cuba. reporter 7: the u.s. government will also ban trips by cruise ships. reporter 8: they'll have to go after their finances. reporter 9: limiting the amount of money, fresh u.s. sanctions. [both speaking spanish] [man speaking spanish] [man speaking spanish] [man speaking spanish] [woman speaking spanish] reporter: out of hana, where there appears to be some kind of gas crisis. [reporter speaking spanish] reporter: the trump administration is sanctioning the ships who deliver that fuel. [reporter speaking spanish] reporter 2: the u.s. wants to stop the oil trade between the two political allies. fernandez: 20 years ago, hugo chavez was elected president of venezuela. cuba and venezuela became close

this is all of cuba they get to see. this is not cuba.is a transplanted bit of the united states. most of what you see on your screen was built by americans. in have anna's case, much of the transplanted north america was built by a special group of americans who have given too many of the cuban people up cure litter -- a peculiar picture of what life in america must be like. i am albert burke. i will try to tell you how and why this was the case. he lost money at the gaming tables and casinos, many of which were built by a group of american racketeers which run most of the bookie operations, dope peddling, policy rackets, abortion mills, prostitution, and poker houses here in the states. he enjoyed excellent food served in exotic restaurants built by the same men with the crime -- same kind of money. he wanted feminine companionship. havana was famous for the quality of its red light district located a few blocks away from tourist alley. this is a business enterprise set up and run by the same racketeers who shared hard earned pesos and

and cuba. i'm a he sold the 20 century up close, indecent housing, good schools, medical care, and in good wages. he heard all about the good life on the base radio and saw an american moving pictures and on television, and he was converted . he took to the hills with castro to fight for what he called economic reform. what he meant was the kind of economy that was the good life for americans, and this meant industrial development for cuba that would give them what you see on your screen. it meant a drastic overhaul of cuba's farming set up, which kept cuban farmers back in the latest. he had no idea about how this would be done. he only knew that it had to be done. and his friend, josÉ martinez, agreed with him. he joined castro in 1956, because at that time, he had one burning ambition, and that was to see cuba free. free of governments and a way of life that allowed with this man called foreign interests dig up and haul out that cuban mines valuable metals. he was a miner working for cuban b

-cuba relations.the director of "the war on cuba" series, which is executive produced by danny glover and oliver stone. and dr. rolando pÉrez rodrÍguez is the director of science and innovation at biocubafarma and founder of cuba's molecular immunology center and a member of the cuban academy of science. coming up, we stay in the americas. we will be talking to the director, the americas director of amnesty international about how the pandemic has exacerbated inequality and driven aggression north across the hemisphere. stay with us. -- driven migration north across the hemisphere. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break] because the song is dedicated to the cuban doctors. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. we turn now to take a look at how the pandemic has exacerbated an equity across the americas over the past year. over 1.3 million have died in the americas from covid-19 making it the hardest hit region in the world. in the united states, the death toll has topped 560,000. in brazil, the number has reac

the seizure of $750 million of american owned properties in cuba. to pay for it all in 50 years. but at the rate the cuban economy is failing, the payoff may come sooner than he expects. it belongs to the cuban electric company, along with the phone company, also american owned. a day after this demonstration, castro charges that the u.s. and what he calls fascists r in a plot to defeat the revolution. he says his government has been generous to the church, but there are no gentlemen of the jury -- clergy men at the mock funeral of the telephone company. >>> in costa rica, sanctions against the dominican republic, who complained that trujillo ordered and attempted assassination on the president, and diplomatic sanctions are voted. the united states secretary of state takes up the next topic, calling for action to meet the price of growing influence in cuba. the reaction to the debate was explosive. in cuba, castro defied the hemisphere organization, and proclaimed friendship with the soviet union and communist china. but even as cuba threatened to c

power over cuba's masses.ation as premiere and the response is explosive. walkouts from havana shops and factories, mass demonstrations by workers and university students calling on castro not to resign, hailing castro the maximum leader of the revolution. president manuel shown just after the revolution when castro installed him as provisional president, then one of the heroes of the people, was ousted to be replaced as president by the former minister of revolutionary laws. but it is certain that whoever may be president or premiere, fidel castro is number one man in cuba. in an emotional four-hour broadcast that evening, he accused former president of near treason, toppling him from the role of hero to one threatened with mob violence. fidel castro's dramatic show of strength make it's clear that after six and a half months he is still riding high on a wave of turbulent mass emotion. ♪♪ 1 million peasants jammed the square before cuba's national capital in response to the call of fidel castro for celebratio

cuba, the cuba of jose marti.plause] narrator: now the cubans are united. the mrp has joined the coalition. they don't like the way this year it is dominating the operation. but they assume the united states participation assures the operation's success. they don't want to be left out of any new cuban government. at this moment in washington, the president is under heavy pressure, being pressed to ok the invasion plan. a major source of this pressure is cia reports on what is happening inside cuba. >> we knew that cuban pilots were being trained in czechoslovakia. we knew that they were going to have, very shortly, available under cuban direction, weapons in considerable numbers. and i inclined to think, as i am said before, that if a move or to be made short of intervention, probably this was the area of time that it had to be. narrator: another source of pressure is guatemala. unrest is growing there. the communists from the army are demanding the removal of the brigade. but government feels threatened. the pres

the end of an era after 6 decades of a castro's cuba gets a new leader will it bring change what about relations with the u.s. this is inside story. hello and welcome to the show i'm sam is a than for the 1st time in 60 years cuba will not have a castro at the helm 89 year old the old castro is relinquishing his position as head of the communist party under the banner of continuity and unity he says he wants to pass the baton to a younger generation raul and his late brother fidel began their leadership of cuba after the communist revolution in 1959 as he now heads into retirement role leaves the country wracked by the economic effects of coronavirus and u.s. sanctions and flickers of dissent will bring in our panel shortly but 1st this report from our latin america editor newman. not even the pandemic could prevent cuba's 8 communist party congress from proceeding exactly as planned but raul castro's confirmation that he was stepping down was nonetheless historic. my task as the 1st secretary of the central committee of the communist party of cuba concludes with the satisfaction of ha

cuba si, yankees, no.lectrical company was recently nationalized by the government, along with the telephone company, also american owned. this is april castro crowd enthusiastically defacing the telephone company building. a day after this demonstration, castro alleges the u.s., what he calls fascist priests, rn a plot against the revolution. ♪ narrator: in costa rica, the organization of american states votes sanctions against the dominican republic, led by venezuelan who complained trujillo ordered an attempted assassination of the venezuelan president. a boycott and implementing sanctions -- and diplomatic sanctions are voted. the u.s. secretary of state takes up the next topic, calling for action to meet the growing threat of red influence in cuba. the reaction to the debate at the oas was explosive. in cuba, castro defied the hemisphere organization and proclaimed friendship with the soviet union and communist china. the oas took strong action against the dominican strongman, resulting -- but even as

both in cuba and without. but i do know this, if we were to follow that recommendation, that we would lose all of our friends in latin america, and we would probably be condemned in the united nations, and we would not accomplish our objectives. i know something else, it would be an open invitation for mr. christian have to come in. >> as the votes are counted on november 8th, it is clear the key issue has been who knows best how to handle castro? it is the closest presidential election in the united states history. >> we finally emerge successfully, now as far as the program i went to the country with a clear view of what united states is going to do in cuba. i have been elected, and i'm going to do my best to execute those views. >> even as the president elect speaks, the force that nixon denies exist, that eisenhower has created, that castro has denounced, is getting ready. in cuba meanwhile castor was sending his best routes to destroy the gorillas. they are cut off of farms and supplies. >> thousands of m

if when they got back to cuba in this invasion force? after castro took power in early 1959 and started nationalizing industries and expropriating the property classes. there was an exodus of cubans professionals, you know people with money who saw that these socialist practices were going to be injurious to them and so you had in southern florida a hundred thousand or so. cuban exiles anti-castro the the big challenge for cia was trying to unite them into a single front because there were many differences between them. some of them had been for the previous dictator bautista and most of the others didn't like that there were differences of opinion. and so that was that was a great challenge. what cia? offered to them was a chance to retake their country. and they signed up, you know, there was a recruiting drive and again trained in. guatemala nicaragua a few places in the united states despite the state department objecting to to that. and they were hoping to take back their country for freedom. let's let some of our viewers take part

but in washington cuba has not been forgotten. in his campaign the new president has promised to do something about cuba. now he must decide what to do, but his advisers are new and inexperienced. he must rely on the professionals. military advice from the general and the joint chiefs, from the cia which is handling the cuban problem, political and military aspects as well as intelligence. >> cia director alan dulles briefed the president on the cuban situation. he told the president the details of the invasion plan known. as time went on both of these parts of the plan were to be achieved at least with the approval of the cia and pentagon. at this point dulles simply wanted an okay from the president to continue operations. he got it. >> from this date on operation pluto gets top priority from the cia. the cia tells the cuban exiles they must agree on a single leader if they want united states help. the cubans choose dr. jose, once castro's prime minister the doctorhy has remained neutral in the power struggle. now he comes to ne

dawn, monday, april 17th, bay of pigs, cuba. the first units of the brigade reached the beach without opposition. among them is humberto of the second battalion. >> this is the way the battle began. three men went forward to look for militiamen. suddenly, they found two. they said, stop. the militiamen answered, stop. then a soldier from the rear yelled, we are an army liberation. we came to fight communism. the militiamen answer, long live fidel castro, and the shooting began. you are looking at film shot in the invasion beach by german and cuban cameramen. in havana as the morning goes on, castro begins to react to the invasion. those who can be trusted are armed. castro takes personal command. the roads out of havana are clogged with troops moving up to the invasion beach. but in the first hours, the brigade pushes inland. castro has not yet been able to bring up his tanks and heavy guns. the first communicae reports satisfactory progress. over the beach are 12 b-26s. shortly after dawn, they are attacked by the three castro

as in cuba, and a reign of terror. over the efforts of a small group of young cubans, to regain their freedom, should recall the long roll call of refugees who cannot now go back, to hungary, to north korea, to north vietnam, to east germany, or to poland, or to any of the other lands from which a steady strem of refugees pours forth. in eloquent testimony of the cruel oppression now holding sway this their homeland. we dare not fail to see the insidious nature of this new and deeper struggle. we dare not fail to grasp the new concept, the new tools, the new sense of urgency we will need to combat it, whether in cuba or south vietnam. and we dare not fail to realize that this struggle is taking place every day without fanfare, in thousands of villages and markets day and night, and in classrooms all over the globe. the message of cuba, of the rising den of communist voices in asia and latin america, these messages are all the same. the complacent, the self-indulgent, are about to swept away with the debris of history.

but cuba must change. i don't care how i die but rest assured if they invade us i will die in combat. you don't make friends with uncle sam by overthrowing a dictatorship ruled by his appointee or by building a socialist state right in his backyard for del castro did both his relations with the us started with a trade war escalated into a naval blockade of the island and climaxed with something that had the world staring into the abyss over nuclear apocalypse during the cuban missile crisis and island nation smaller than the size of florida found itself squeezed between 2 superpowers in the thick of what almost became an all out atomic war it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from cuba or against any nation in the western hemisphere present attack by the soviet union on the united states things eased a little since then of course the us is a very different country the soviet union hasn't existed for nearly 3 decades but cuba cuba remains the same along with its ever

cuba. called brigade 2506, their goal was to overthrow fidel castro, who took power two years ago in the cuban revolution. coming up, we look back at the failed invasion and its consequences. joining us is former cia historian nicholas dujmovic. first, a newsreel reporting on the early stages of the attack. ♪ [video clip] >> the assault has begun on the dictatorship of fidel castro. cuban army pilots open the first phase of organized revolts with bombing raids on three military bases, two of the b-26 light bombers seek asylum on florida. on the heels of the airbase, land bases were affected by rebels in several places. as revenge against the dictator with a refugee planning a full-scale army revolt near. ♪ in havana, acting foreign minister, rockets fired which he claimed were u.s. at the united nations, cuban foreign minister accused the united states of unleashing an invasion, he said the invading soldiers were trained in florida. he makes a quick denial. >> these charges are totally fals

whether in cuba or south vietnam. and we dare not fail to realize that this struggle is taking place every day without fanfare in thousands of villages and markets day and night and in classrooms all over the globe. the message of cuba, of layoffs, of the rising communist voices in asian and latin america, these messages are all the same. they're complacent, they're self-indulgent are about to be swept away with the debris of history. only the strong, only the industrious, only the determined, only the courageous, only the visionary who determined the real nature of our struggle can possibly survive. no greater task faces this country or this administration. no other challenge is more deserving of our every effort and energy. too long we have fixed our eyes on traditional military needs, on armies prepared to cross borders, on missiles poised for flight. now it should be clear that this is no longer enough, that our security may be lost piece by piece, country by country, without the firing of a single missile or the

both in cuba, and without. i do know this, if we were to follow that recommendation, that we don't help our friends and it latin america, we would be cadet united nations, i know something else, it would be something else , it is invitation for khrushchev to come in. >> a key issue is who knows best on how to handle castro? it is the closest presidential election. >> as far as the x program, i went to the country with very clear views of what the united states got to do. i have been elected and therefore, i will do my best to implement those views. >> even as he speaks, the force that he is called for in his campaign, the force that makes it did not exist, that eisenhower curated, that castro has denounced is getting trained and ready. in cuba, castro is setting his best troops. now, cut off from arms and supplies. >> thousands of fidel's militiamen begin an offensive against us. they move out the farmer, kill the cows, pigs and chickens. cut down the fruit trees, burn the houses, took away the food, and the la

both in cuba and without.know this, if we were to follow that recommendation, we will lose all of our friends in latin america, we would probably be condemned in the united nations, and we will not accomplish our objective. i know some thing else, it will be an open invitation for mr. khrushchev to come in to come into latin america and to engage us and what would be a civil war and possibly even worse than that. host: what role did questions about castro in cuba play in the 1960 presidential election? nicholas: is such a bizarre situation because nixon is arguing exactly the opposite of what he believes. i mean, kennedy is attacking nixon from the right on cuba, saying the cuban revolution has to be quarantined and that its opponents have to be supported. they kennedy campaign had put out the campaign statement that the eisenhower administration does not help, providing virtually no help and so in this debate, which was the fourth of the presidential debates, nixon is countering that press statement from the

the southern coast of cuba. the goal was to overthrow fidel castro, who had taken power only a few years earlier in the cuban revolution. coming back we look back 60 years on the failed invasion. our guest is former cia historian nicholas dujmovic. first a universal newsreel reporting on the early stages of the attack. >> the assault has begun on the dictatorship of fidel castro. cuban army pilots opens the first phase of organize revolts with bombing raids on three military bases. two of the b 26 light bombers, and on the heels of the arid, land bases were affected by rebels in several places on the human on the cuban coast. and the revenge against the dictator with a refugee planning a fuel scale roller me revolt was on. in havana, acting minister -- claims the u.s. raiders have u.s. markets. meanwhile at the united nations, they accused the united states of unleashing a war, and he said the invading soldiers -- but ambassador stevenson makes a quick denial. >> these charges are totally false, and i deny them

he said he was the second most powerful man in cuba. and yet even though ambassador smith and ambassador gardener, both republican ambassadors, both warned of castro, the marxist influences around castro, the communist influences around castro, both of them have testified in the last 6 weeks in spite of their warnings to the american government nothing was done. >> i think that senator kennedy's policies and recommendations for the handling of the castro regime are probably the most dangerously irresponsible recommendations that he's made during the course of his campaign. in effect what senator kennedy recommends is that the united states government should give help to the exiles and to those within cuba who oppose the castro regime provided they're anti-batista. let's see what this means. we have five treaties with latin america including the one setting up the organization of american space in bogota in 1948 in which we agreed not to intervene in the internal affairs of any other country and bay as well agreed to do like wise. the ch

got back to cuba and this invasion force?st: after castro took power in early 1950 nine and started nationalizing industries and expropriating the property classes, there was an exodus of cubans, professionals, people with money who saw that the socialist practices were going to be injurious to them. so you had in southern florida a hundred thousand or so cuban exiles, anti-castro. the big challenge for cia was trying to unite them into a single front, because there were many differences between them. some of them had been for the previous dictator bautista, and most of the others didn't like that. there were differences of opinion, so that was a great challenge. what cia offered to them was a chance to retake their country. and they signed up. there was a recruiting drive and again, they were trained in guatemala, nicaragua. if places in the united states, despite the state department objecting to that. they were hoping to take back their country for freedom. host: let's let some of our viewers take part in this conversation

obligation in mind that i have decided in the last 24 hours to discuss briefly the recent events in cuba. on that unhappy island, as in so many other arenas in the contest for freedom, the news has grown worse instead of better. i have emphasized before that this was a struggle of human -- cuban patriots against a cuban dictator. while we could not be expected to hide our sympathies, we made it repeatedely clear that the armed forces of this country would not intervene in any way. any unilateral, american intervention in the absence of an external attack upon ourselves or an ally would have been contrary to our traditions and to our international obligations. but let the record show that our restraint is not inexhaustible. should it ever appear that the doctrine of noninterference merely conceals or excuses a policy of nonaction, if the nations of this hemisphere should fail to meet their commitments to outside communist presentation, then i wanted clearly understood that this government will not hesitate in meeting its obligations, which are the security of our nation. [applause] should

�* . , ., ., cuba? the biden administration has said it _ cuba?tration has said it is not _ cuba? the biden administration has said it is not an _ cuba? the biden administration has said it is not an immediate | has said it is not an immediate priority for them to change, again, the drastic policy towards cuba and of course there have been great fluctuations in this in the last few years. the recruitment under 0bama and strong functions and a more distant position under donald trump —— rapprochement. 0f position under donald trump —— rapprochement. of course biden also has to ink about domestic politics, the fact that in miami, where i am, the cuban—american community is very strong and by and large they are hostile to the idea of better relations with the cuban government. so i think it is something that the biden administration will take very carefully and it will wait and see before taking, again, any substantial action in a different direction. going back to cuba then, _ different direction. going back to cuba then, very _ different direction.

cuba is not russia. with today's weapons, that country, that island, could not only be overrun it would be wiped out in minutes, but cuba is like russia in the sense that bullets and counterrevolution are no better solution today for the problems of land reform, economic reform and exploding populations than they were 43 years ago in russia. look hard at history as it happened. particularly during the past 5 yea -- 15 years. 15 years and some $90 billion after world war ii despite all the military facts, the treaties, and the defensive alliances we've put through in the best, top hat, cutaway coat and stripe trouser kind of diplomacy. despite military assistance, technical assistance, economic aid and point-four programs, communists have fed on the stuff that makes revolutions, have taken over other people's revolutions right into cuba here in the western hemisphere. for two reasons -- first, the dollar hasn't been printed yet that can buy our way out of the world they live in and bullets and counterrese

and the occupation of cuba by united states forces. they could not risk the possible escalation to nuclear war. one alternative had suggested, was in direct intervention. carried out secretly under cia supervision. the cia solution was a carefully controlled military operation, and it ignored for the most part the underground inside cuba. which could not be controlled. left-wing, former castro supporters, considered unreliable, were shut off from participation. no real effort was made to bring about an uprising of the cuban people. the mercurial exiled cuban leaders said control was taken on their hands. the cia, put its faith in the brigade. small politically reliable, and controlled by the united states navy. and attempt was made to use the brigade, and as an instrument of united states policy. it was the united states big stick diplomacy. but fidel castro did not collapse at the first sign of opposition, as many had thought. as a result, the cuban exile brigade was destroyed on the beach, while the cuban exile leaders were held in c

i was in cuba exactly a year ago for the 49th anniversary. it's remarkable how around havana, down at the bay of pigs, there are billboards all over the place celebrating the victory against yankee imperialism. this 50th anniversary they will mark with a parade, all sorts of celebrations. i'm not expecting too many celebrations here. that's, of course, because for the united states it was a disaster. it was a personal tragedy for the men who took part in the invasion, of course. and it was a humiliation for the kennedy administration which had only been in power less than three months. at first the administration tried to insist the united states had nothing to do with this. that it was just the exiles had gone in on their own. but that charade did not last very long, and very soon the whole world knew the truth, which was that the brigade had been trained by the cia, had been supplied with american equipment and the invasion had been approved by the joint chiefs of staff, the state department and ultimately the president of the united states

but if marines had gone into cuba? in april 1961, it's hard to know how the game would have played out. what we know is what happened, and what happened was a tragedy. thank you all for coming tonight. [applause] [applause] [applause] next on american history tv, historian vince hotan discuss the thames by the u.s. government to overthrow cuban

this is slander and an insult against cuba cuba is no closer to freedom and democracy than it was 4 years ago the age of castro is coming to an end but is the anticapitalist cuba heading the same way well roll castro says over his dead body like. nothing nothing obliges me to make this decision but i firmly believe in the strength and value of example and the endor standing of my fellow countrymen and let no one doubted that as long as i live i will be ready with my food in the stirrup to defend the homeland the revolution and social they will be about who want to do it i read it every day. gloria a member of the cuba and venezuela solidarity committee thinks of anna is unlikely to make major policy shifts under the new leader well it certainly is and 2 the leadership officially of you know fidel roll and other leaders of what they call the generation of the centenary those who were involved in 1953 in the struggle against but. but as davis explained over and over it is a revolution a continuation and that the new leadership with me again the esko now the president of cuba now becom

i mean, it's cuba is not -- cuba is not free until cuba is free. for a long time, it was a cult of fidel but they realized like everybody else that it now becomes the government of fidel. and until the government of fidel is brought down, then there is no freedom. and you have to think these guys for 60 years now have been the same thing, feeling the same thing. as passionate as they've ever been. and that's pretty extraordinary. just as extraordinary as the longevity of fidel. the longevity of their passion. i can understand. look, i've never had my homeland taken away from me. i could understand if i did, i'd be pretty annoyed about it and probably want to do something about it. that's the situation that you're seeing here with these exiles communities down in florida. did that answer the question to the degree -- i mean, it's the -- from the highest levels of cia, you're talking about the same people. beyondpeople. beyond that they are farming it out to different groups. and it's always good to use internal people if you can. the likelihood for

the united states is important to cuba only her only. because no one is already saying they're going to be a world power on the. recent job why should they change anything they respect the united states to change the whole crew they will. we're back with the latest in 30 minutes from.

of terrorism this is slow and an insult to gates cuba cuba is no closer to freedom and democracy than it was 4 years ago the age of castro is coming to an end but is the anticapitalist cuba heading the same way well roll castro says over his dead body. but it does nothing nothing obliges me to make a decision but i firmly believe in the strength and value of example and the understanding of my fellow countrymen and let no one doubt that as long as i live i will be ready with my food in the stirrup to defend the homeland the revolution and socialism it may well be about who want to do it i hear every day. staying in latin america aussies on contact us spoken with journalists at glenn greenwald on the desk right santa stanley have received a green little put on corruption among brazil's at least journalistic tactic is one that i actually 1st noticed when i started writing about politics in 2005 there had been a coup attempt in venezuela in 2002 to oust hugo chavez who whatever you think of him was democratically elected and very popular in the new york times editorial that it was a an a