But He's Not Dead Yet

Fidel Castro is officially stepping down.

Ailing revolutionary icon Fidel Castro permanently gave up the Cuban presidency on Tuesday, ending five decades of ironclad rule of the island marked by his brash defiance of the United States.

In a message published by the online version of the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma, the 81-year-old Castro said he would not seek the presidency again when it is decided later this week.

"I neither will aspire to nor will I accept -- I repeat -- I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the Council of State and commander-in-chief," Castro wrote, almost 19 months after undergoing intestinal surgery and handing power temporarily to his brother Raul Castro.

"It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total commitment that I am not in physical condition to offer," he said.

Castro did not say who he thought should be his successor as president, though most analysts believe Raul Castro, 76, is the obvious choice.

But the elder Castro's reference to a "middle generation" suggests that younger leaders such as Vice President Carlos Lage, 56, should not be ruled out.

It's time for this fake conflict with Cuba to end. We are allowing Communist China to sell us poisonous toys and food but we want to keep this tiny nation under our boot? The double standard is ridiculous and it's that kind of duplicity that keeps us at odds and at war with malcontents in places like the Middle East.