Cuba braces for U.S. Attack, but White House says invasion 'absurd'

Former combatants of Fidel Castro's revolution promised on Saturday to keep fighting for Cuba as the nation's government beefed up security to defend itself against those who might take advantage of the ailing

leader's health.

The Cuban government, under the control of Castro's brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, mobilized citizen defense militias and asked military reservists to check in daily, saying it fears a US invasion. The White House, however, insisted no such threat exists, with press secretary Tony Snow calling "absurd" the suggestion that the United States would attack the island. "The U.S. Has absolutely no designs on invading Cuba," Snow said Friday in Crawford, Texas, where President Bush was vacationing at his ranch. (AP)