Raleigh Spy Conference
Focusing On Fidel Castro

By Elliott West
News Editor
Raleigh Chronicle
Infosearch:
José F. Sánchez
Bureau Chief
Cuba
Research Dept.
La Nueva Cuba
August 30, 2006

RALEIGH -- With Fidel Castro in the news and rumors swirling about his questionable health, there is more discussion now than ever about what will happen when the dictator who leads Cuba's communist govrenment finally dies.

At the international Spy Conference in Raleigh, speakers from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Cuban community, and academia hope to answer that question.

The Fourth Annual Spy Conference will be examining Fidel Castro and Cuba as its main focus later this month at the North Carolina Museum of History in downtown Raleigh. The event will be held on August 23 - 25th and registration fees are anywhere from $250 for the general public to $145 for those in the intelligence community.

The conference was started by Bernie Reeves, the current publisher of Metro Magazine and the former publisher of Raleigh's Spectator newspaper which merged with the weekly Independent years ago. Around 250 people attended last year's event, said Reeves.

Reeves is an espionage and politics aficionado and his magazine articles and columns frequently discuss current events in those realms.

"We've got to study intelligence, so we can keep abreast of it," said Reeves in a telephone interview today.

Reeves also commented that people not involved in the intelligence community are certainly welcome to register and attend.

"The speakers are delighted to know that real people are interested," added Reeves.

Unique Speakers & Qualified Panelists

The Spy Conference seems to have assembled an array of highly qualified speakers and panelists for the unique event including experts from the CIA, universities, and the Cuban community.

Topics include "Cuba after Fidel" by former CIA Latin American chief and keynote speaker Brian Latell.

Also speaking will be the CIA's former science and technology operative Gene Poteat, who will speak on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as a first-hand account.

Another topic will include "The Castro Obsession: U.S. Operations Against Cuba" given by retired Miami Herald Latin America editor Don Bohning.

"Castro, the Third World and the KGB" will be presented by University of Virginia scholar and Cold War expert Timothy Naftali at the event.

Cuba commentator Humberto Fontova will also be speaking on Fidel Castro in American politics and Cuban-born management professor Art Padilla will speak on Castro's destructive policies and how they have harmed Cuba.

Also, on the second day of the conference, there will a speaker's panel with questions and answers. Reeves said that also attendees often talk with speakers in the hallways and are encouraged to answer questions.

The NC Museum of History also currently features a free display of "spy devices" that were used during World War II on the second floor of the museum. During the war Mr. Watts-Hill, a local resident, had worked for the OSS office, the military predecessor to the CIA and contributed some of the items on display.

For more information on the Raleigh International Spy Conference, visit their website at
www.raleighspyconference.com.

Previous topics at the conference have included the cold war in 2003. Reeves created quite a media stir when he was able to land the former head of the Soviet Union's KGB branch as one of the speakers.

Other panel sessions at previous events have included FBI and Chinese espionage, Soviet efforts to get secrets from Silicon Valley, 9/11, and more.