James Cason may be the most remarkable member of the U.S. Foreign Service

National Review, Dec 31, 2004

* James Cason may be the most remarkable member of the U.S. Foreign Service. He is "our man in Havana"--head of our mission there--and he has a wonderful gift for getting under the skin of the Communist regime. He opens his doors--our doors--to dissidents. For the backyard, he ordered the construction of a mock isolation cell, in which many of Cuba's heroes are kept.

And now he has put up Christmas lights, the only Christmas lights in town. They have attracted great attention in Havana. In addition to Santa, the reindeer, and "Merry Christmas," Cason has illuminated the number "75," meant to remind the country of the 75 dissidents locked up by Castro in the March 2003 crackdown. The dictator has retaliated by placing a billboard across from the mission showing photos from Abu Ghraib and the swastika. Typical stuff, such as you can see any day in Ann Arbor, Berkeley, and Madison. Cason is getting to them. Keep going, Jim.