People gather in Havana, Cuba to hear the news. Yahoo/Reuters
The United States and Cuba are preparing to restore diplomatic ties after more then 50 years of embargo. Yahoo/Reuters. The deal, brokered by the Vatican and Canada, calls for a prisoner swap, opening of embassies between the two countries and an easing of the embargo. President Obama said that the embargo had failed to accomplish the goal of regime change in Cuba. The embargo still remains, and is unlikely to be lifted, because the Republican party controls congress and historically has been very hostile to Cuba's communist regime. Obama still has power, through executive orders, to ease the embargo. The prisoner exchange involved the United States trading three Cuban spies for one American spy and an aid worker named Alan Gross, who had been imprisoned by Cuba for trying to give the internet to Jewish Cubans. Republicans vowed to torpedo the plans.
My Comment:
I don't support this. I would love to have Cuba join the international community, but only if the Castro brothers share the same fate as Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadaffi. The communist regime is completely unacceptable and should be removed. But that isn't realistic. It's pretty clear that nothing short of an invasion will topple the communist party in Cuba. We tried that once and it failed spectacularly. The embargo didn't do much either, but at some point we have to ask ourselves is it really worth it to deal with Cuba?
That's a tough question to answer. We work with China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and a whole host of other countries that are, quite frankly, evil, but for valid reasons. I'm struggling to think of a reason to work with Cuba. They have little strategic value and they are too poor of an economy to really contribute to trade. Cuba, of course would benefit greatly from this deal, but I fail to see how it helps anyone in America. If anything, it could be worse for us if our workers lose their jobs due to Cuban products flooding the market. Still, Cuba is so small and our economy is so huge, either way it would be a blip on our radar. Some Cuban-Americans may like it, but I'm guessing most of them do not.
This is probably a gift for Republicans. They have long held Cuban-Americans as a strong voting block. This has faded in recent elections, but for 2016, expect this to be a major issue in the presidential election. Cuban-Americans are a crucial voting block in the swing state of Florida and it is possible that this issue could tip the state red.
If the free market is really all its cracked up to be, it should be able to handle a Socialist nation. Since the rise of feudalism there has not been a single instance of communism on a national scale anywhere on earth. Even Russia never made it that far (Stalin had all communists jailed or murdered back in the 30s)
ReplyDeleteThe Brothers Castro, and their movement fought their wars, and won, making Cuban Socialism every bit as valid as Israel.
Wars do indeed have consequences and the result of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban revolution mean that there really isn't much we can do about the government there. That doesn't mean we have to work with them. And I really don't understand what the United States gains from working with them, other then a tiny bit of trade. You can argue it is for humanitarian reasons, but other then that, I just don't get it.
ReplyDelete