Carter Questions US Allegation of Cuban Ties to Bioterrorism

HAVANA, May 13 – Former President Jimmy Carter said today that United States diplomats, intelligence officials and White House aides who briefed him before his trip to Cuba never mentioned fears about Cuban involvement with terrorism or in developing biological weapons.

The briefings, which he described as "intense," had finished just days before a senior State Department official alleged last Monday that Cuba had developed a limited capacity for germ warfare research and was sharing "dual use" biotechnology with rogue nations.

"There were absolutely no such allegations made or questions raised," Mr. Carter said at a biological research center before an audience that included President Fidel Castro of Cuba and numerous scientists. "I asked them myself on more than one occasion if there was any evidence that Cuba has been involved in sharing any information with any country on earth that could be used for terrorist purposes. And the answer from our experts on intelligence was no."

Mr. Carter made his remarks at the beginning of a tour of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, just after a lengthy presentation on biomedical and genetic research. Neither Mr. Castro nor Cuban officials made any direct comments about the American allegations.

Mr. Carter said that he did not believe that Cuba was collaborating with Libya in biological research, and that its scientific relations with Iran conformed to internationally accepted standards that prohibit improper use of research.

Mr. Carter is the most prominent American political figure to visit Cuba since the 1959 revolution, and he hinted today that the timing of the State Department announcement was an attempt to undercut the impact of the visit.

"With some degree of reluctance, I would like to comment on the allegations of bioterrorism," he said. "I do this because the allegations were made, perhaps not coincidentally, just before our visit to Cuba."

Last week, John Bolton, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, made his allegations against Cuba is a speech before the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, although he did not provide any evidence. He expressed concerns that Cuban technology could support biological weapons research and called upon the Cuban government to end "cooperation with rogue states and to fully comply with all of its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention."

Some people suspected Mr. Bolton's remarks provided a sign that the Bush administration was toughening its Cuba policy.

Mr. Bolton's statements drew a sharp rebuke from Mr. Castro, who later extended to Mr. Carter an invitation to inspect any biological research center on the island. Today, Mr. Carter said he hoped that anyone with evidence of research that could help terrorists would take advantage of Mr. Castro's offer.

The center with Mr. Carter visited today has attracted thousands of foreign scientists, including 400 American ones alone last year, who come to learn about genetic research that could help develop vaccines and cancer treatments. According to Cuban government figures, it is one of 210 scientific research center in the country, and it has helped develop products and techniques that have been provided to 14 countries.

Doctors involved in that research said the American allegations ignored their desire to produce vaccines and other products that have helped many residents of the developing world.

"Those accusations offend us as scientists," Dr. Ricardo Bringas, a computational biologist who analyzes genetic patterns, told reporters before the tour. "The last thing we are thinking of is to hurt someone."

Many of the doctors and scientists who spoke to Mr. Carter and his delegation today expressed hope to one day be able to work with their American counterparts. Several suggested that Cuban discoveries, like their vaccine against meningitis B, could help many Americans.

Mr. Carter said he had been "overwhelmed with the dedication of the Cuban people and their government" in conducting research that put people before profits.

"We also have been impressed with the range of cooperation that has been developed between Cuba and other countries," he said. "My hope is that in the future there can be close cooperation between scientists and the medical community of Cuba and those of my own country."