The Huffington Post today analyzed what Obama really said to
the Cuban Dissidents in Miami, and promotes significant change in how the U.S.
acts with Cuba. I am quoting the
majority of this well-stated and thought-provoking article.
The article called, President Obama: In Search of a Creative
Policy Towards Cuba, says,
“… calling attention to the photos obscures the
substance of the president's remarks, the central theme of which was a
respectful questioning of the isolation
policy as anachronistic. The president proposed bringing rationality
to U.S.-Cuba policy. This would unavoidably leave behind unnecessary hostility,
befitting the post-Cold War era and an emerging Cuba where major changes are
recognized. The repetition of some expected interventionist platitudes, rather
than confirming the president's support for the embargo, seems destined to
provide political coverage for some policy changes in the near future.”
“… President Obama called for a
"creative" analysis of U.S. strategy, thus inviting U.S. foreign
policy apparatus to question the value of the current policy toward Cuba, which
has been declared anachronistic by the president himself….”
“A rational policy cannot emerge from a distorted
image. Cuba is a country in transition, where economic reform and political
liberalization is occurring. Maintaining a sanctions policy based on the false
premise that the island is a terrorist threat, isolated in the hemisphere, not
only diminishes the credibility of the U.S., but hinders the development of a
policy tailored to the challenges and opportunities created by reforms that
have taken place since Fidel Castro's retirement.”
“One problem for U.S. policy is that several of
the complaints about the Cuban system are becoming outdated. Since Cuba reformed
its travel policies in October 2012, it has been easier for Cubans
to travel to the U.S. than for U.S. residents to travel to Cuba. The more Cuba
transitions to a mixed economy the more the narrative that paints Cuba as a
remnant of the Cold War is removed from reality. A dominant state sector
remains, but the private and cooperative sectors are growing. Unlike during the
90s when the government insisted on preserving a command economy, the new
non-state sector is part of an integrated development strategy. Religious
freedoms have also expanded.”
With the emergence of autonomous civil society
and a significant market-oriented sector in Cuba, the U.S. insistence that the
embargo is against the Castro government, not the people, becomes
contradictory. The strategy of economic asphyxiation does not differentiate
between the state and non-state sectors. Why don't we discuss measures for
allowing U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba if they utilize private lodging, and
for giving private entrepreneurs access to the U.S. market? … It is clear that
the embargo is out of step with U.S. values and runs counter to peaceful and
orderly changes on the island.”
…
“The embargo is disconnected from the hemispheric
and global balance of power. For two decades, this U.S. policy has been
overwhelmingly condemned in the United Nations. Russia, China and Brazil have
shown satisfaction with the modernization of Cuba's Mariel port and its
conversion into a special economic zone, which is similar to steps taken in
Vietnam and China. Mexico has just negotiated favorable terms for Cuba's debt,
clearing the way for greater involvement in the economic opening of the island.
All of Latin America has announced that it will not attend the 2015 Summit of
the Americas without Cuba, and that the U.S. embargo will be a subject of contention.”
“If President Obama wants to get
"creative", article 2 of
the U.S. Constitution confers upon him broad powers to do so.
Despite all the undue Congressional meddling authorized by the Helms-Burton
Law, the executive branch has the ability to adopt an attitude of pragmatic
compromise, negotiation, and exchange with Cuba. Besides removing Cuba from the
State Department's list of terrorist sponsoring nations, the president can
issue a general license for non-tourist travel to Cuba and adopt measures that
stimulate ongoing reforms. The president can also discuss George Bush's USAID's
responsibility for the design of interventionist and provocative programs that
led to Cuba's imprisonment of Alan Gross, an American subcontractor. The State
Department can negotiate a
reasonable solution to this problem and bring Mr. Gross back to
Maryland, with his family and Jewish congregation.”
“A "creative" and updated U.S. policy
toward Cuba is long overdue. Given the potential benefits to both countries,
it's worth a try.”
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