Cuba's former president Fidel Castro lashed out at the United States and Europe on Monday, accusing them of igniting conflicts abroad and comparing NATO's recent military statements to that of the Nazi SS, Agence France-Presse reported.
Accusing the West of "cynicism," he said the trait had become "a symbol of imperialist policy."
In a controversial column published in Cuban state media, the father of the island's communist revolution also attacked U.S. Sen. John McCain over U.S. policy in the Middle East, calling him "Israel's most unconditional ally."
"The world has seen no respite in recent years, particularly since the European Economic Community, under the strict and unconditional leadership of the United States, decided the time had come to settle scores with what was left of two great nations (Russia and China) that... had carried out the heroic deed of putting an end to the imperialist colonial order imposed on the world by Europe and the United States," he said.
The 88-year-old former leader singled out McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, saying he had supported Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and "participated together with that service in the creation of the Islamic State, which today controls a considerable and vital portion of Iraq and reportedly one-third of Syria as well."
Turning to NATO, he accused Western politicians of hypocrisy and aggression for trying to exert pressure on Moscow in connection with the Ukrainian crisis, which coincides with calls for the ramping up of military budgets of NATO member countries.
"Many people are astonished when they hear the statements made by some European spokesmen for NATO when they speak with the style and face of the Nazi SS," he said.
"Adolf Hitler's greed-based empire went down in history with no more glory than the encouragement provided to NATO's aggressive and bourgeois governments, which makes them the laughingstock of Europe and the world."
Meanwhile, the iconic Castro stressed that Cuba will continue to resist the U.S., despite the costs to the Cuban economy due to the U.S. embargo, claiming that "there is no worse price than capitulating before an enemy who attacks you without any right to do so," RT reported.
"When the USSR disintegrated and disappeared from the socialist landscape, we continued resisting and together, the state and the revolutionary people, we're continuing our independent march,"
After almost five decades in power, Castro handed power to his younger brother Raul in 2006 amid a health crisis, and he has since devoted his time to writing books and articles and receiving foreign dignitaries.
