by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Feb. 19, 2008
All Rights Reserved.

hrowing in the towel, Cuba's 81-yeard-old communist dictator Fidel Castro ended his 49 year-long reign on the island-nation, only 90 miles from Key West, Florida. Castro's retirement was based on continued ill-health stemming from an unknown intestinal surgery in 2006, rendering him incapacitated and handing power to his 76-year-old brother Raul. Castro came to power Jan. 1, 1959 after his band of guerrilla fighters, including Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, toppled Fulgencio Batista's U.S.-backed government during the waning days of the Eisenhower administration. U.S. officials watched helplessly as Castro, with support from the Soviet Union, defied the Truman Doctrine and set up a communist state in Amercia's. backyard. Instead of lending military support to Batista, Eisenhower, concerned about confronting the Soviets, let Cuba fall.

      Since taking over for Fidel in July 2006, Raul showed no real interest in taking power. He lacks the charisma and speechmaking ability of his older brother, whose rants over the 50 years served as sound-bites in a fierce propaganda war. “I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the Council of State and commander-in-chief,” Fidel wrote 19 months ago, realizing his medical condition kept him from resuming his duties. “I would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total commitment that I am not in physical condition to offer,” said Fidel. In his resignation letter, Castro hinted he might support a younger generation of leadership, including 56-year-old Vice President Carlos Lage. Stunned by Castro's sudden departure, President George W. Bush hoped the change would lead to dramatic changes.

      Since ousting Batista in 1959, the U.S. government broke off diplomatic relations, instituting severe travel restrictions and a brutal economic embargo, pushing Castro to the Soviet bloc. “I believe that the change from Fidel Castro ought to begin a period of democratic transition,” said Bush, telegraphing no change in U.S. policy. Many former Cuban citizens lost their fortunes and property to Castro's communist reforms, fighting for nearly 50 years to reclaim property. While U.S. tourists still go to Havana to smoke cigars and drink mojitos, Cuba is off-limits to U.S. passports. Yet tourists flock to Castro's island prison to get a glimpse of the once famous decadence in Bastista's glory days. Unable to prevail on Cuba for nearly 50 years, U.S. officials continue the same bankrupt polices to no avail. Enduring fifty-years of U.S. sanctions turned Castro into a revolutionary martyr.

      Bringing Cuba into the fold requires a different approach by U.S. authorities. With the Cold War ancient history, there's no reason to maintain an obsolete policy based on the antiquated Truman Doctrine of containing communism. Communism or not, Castro proved he could brutalize the small Caribbean nation, holding its impoverished people hostage since the height of the Cold War. Cuban's lucky enough to escape Castro's failed socialist experiment, enjoy the freedom and electricity of Miami, home to the nation's largest Cuban population. You don't need to go to Havana for Cuban cigars or fried plantains. “I don't imagine that happening anytime soon,” said Deputy Sec. of State John Negroponte, asked whether the White House would end the punishing travel restrictions and trade embargo. Maintaining sanctions only slows Cuba's transition to the modern age.

      Fifty-years of sanctions didn't bring Castro's regime to its knees but rather gave him a world platform and raison d'etre. Cuba thrived on U.S. sanctions, seeking alliances with rogue regimes like Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, the former Soviet Union and Red China. Punitive sanctions only tightened Castro's grip and drove the egomaniac to rebellious alliances with outlaw regimes. “I am not saying farewell. I want only to fight as a soldier of ideas. I will continue writing under the title ‘Reflections of Comrade Fidel.' I will be on more weapon in the arsenal that you can count on. Perhaps my voce will be heard,” pleading with Cubans to maintain his colossal delusion and failed socialist experiment. Whether Castro likes it or not, Cuba will move to unthaw relations with the U.S., seeing no point to maintaining a phony struggle against capitalism. Cuba desperately needs change.

      With Castro out and the Cold War long buried, it's time for the U.S. government to take a new approach to Cuba. Ending travel restrictions and the trade embargo would help counter Castro's pernicious propaganda that the U.S. only seeks to exploit its neighbors. Opening up a dialogue and trade will correct misconceptions, currently preventing Cuba from opening its doors to its best resource and closet neighbor. “Beans are more important than canons,” said Raul, after watching horses pull dilapidated Mig-23 floggers because a jet fuel shortage. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba lost billions in foreign aid and had to become more self-reliant. Unlike the diehard Fidel, Raul recognizes Cuba's need to enter a different era. He sees economic reforms as more important than a self-defeating allegiance to Karl Marx or Joseph Stalin, giving the Cuba and the U.S. reason for hope.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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