Gen. Barry McCaffrey, now a university professor visiting the island with the
                 Center for Defense Information, told a news conference that Cuba did not present a
                 military risk to the United States. "They represent zero threat to the United States,"
                 he said.

                 The general said he told Cuban authorities during meetings on Saturday that the
                 United States did not present a military risk to the island, either. He said he also met
                 with Castro's younger brother, Gen. Raul Castro, Cuba's defense minister.

                 McCaffrey said he supported increased cooperation between the United States and
                 Cuba in the areas of drug interdiction and fighting terrorism.

                 "I see no evidence at all that the Cubans are in any way facilitating drug
                 trafficking," the former White House drug policy director said. "Indeed, I see good
                 evidence of the opposite. I strong believe that Cuba is an island of resistance to
                 drug traffic."

                 Some Cuban exile groups and conservative members of Congress in the past have
                 accused the communist country of involvement in the narcotics trade.

                 McCaffrey said he also did not believe that Cuba was a terrorism threat to the
                 United States, as some Cuban exile groups insist. "I don't believe they are harboring
                 terrorist organizations," he said.

                 Cuba remains on the U.S. State Department's terrorism watch list, primarily
                 because of the presence on the island of some Basque separatists, former members
                 of Puerto Rican nationalist groups, and a handful of American fugitives -- many of
                 them former Black Panthers -- who have lived here for decades.

                 Both the United States and Cuba must change to help create a dialogue between the
                 nations, said the general.

                 "It's time to leave the chasm of 1958-59 and move to 2002 -- on both sides," said
                 McCaffrey.

                 The United States should care more about Latin America in general and Cuba in
                 particular, he said, rather than allowing the Cuban-American community to control
                 the political debate over the Caribbean island.

                 Cuba also should do more to improve communication with the United States, and
                 releasing the political prisoners would be a good start, McCaffrey said. He did not
                 say what Castro's response was, except that he received "an attentive and
                 respectful hearing."

                 McCaffrey now teaches national security studies at West Point military academy.
                 The Center for Defense Information is an independent military research
                 organization based in Washington.

                 The trip is among a flood of visits Cuba has seen this year by American groups
                 seeking to learn more about the communist island just 90 miles from U.S. shores.
                 The visitors have included members of Congress, business organizations,
                 representatives of non-governmental organizations.

                 (Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

                  Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.