When Cuban MiGs shot down two Brothers to the Rescue planes over international waters last February, the Clinton administration considered launching a cruise missile attack on an air base in the island, according to U.S. officials familiar with the dis cussions.
Hours after the Feb. 24 shootdown of the two civilian aircraft, Clinton was offered several options to respond to the Cuban aggression, including a cruise missile attack on the Cuban MiGs' home base of San Antonio de los Baños, about 20 miles so uthwest of Havana, the sources said.
``There were some wild ideas. Helms-Burton was the mildest of responses on the table,'' one U.S. official said, referring to the U.S. law punishing some foreign firms that trade with confiscated properties in Cuba. ``Some people were just smoking mad.' '
Four Cuban-American airmen lost their lives in the February incident, which led to a hardening of Cuba-U.S. relations. The shootdown was investigated by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which found Cuba had violated recognized norms of be havior by downing the planes over international waters.
U.S. national security adviser Anthony Lake asked the Pentagon to provide a list of military options, another official involved in the discussions said. The Pentagon came back with two main alternatives -- a cruise missile attack or an air attack by U. S. bombers -- but said it would not recommend either, the official said.
``They said it was a bad idea,'' he said. ``Cuba is only 90 miles away from Florida . . . and you have a nuclear power plant [Turkey Point in South Florida]. . . . We were more likely to lose people in Cuba than in Iraq [in an air attack].''
In addition, the Pentagon estimated it would be difficult for a few long-distance missiles to inflict crippling damage on a particular military target.
``The Cubans had learned a lot from the Persian Gulf War,'' the official added. ``They could have repaired the airfield from where the MiGs took off in about two days.''
In the end, Clinton decided to sever direct flights between the United States and Cuba and to sign the Helms-Burton bill into law. The bill seeks to curb foreign investment in Cuban properties that are claimed by U.S. citizens.
© 1996 The Miami Herald.