Barack's Havana Dream

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 3, 2008
All Rights Reserved.                    

        Ninety miles south of Key West, Florida, Cuba stands as a stubborn failure of communism in the Western Hemisphere.  Swept into power Jan. 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and his band of Latin American revolutionaries, including global icon Agrenitne-born Ernesto “Che” Guevara, beat all odds winning the battle of Santa Clara, driving U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Bastisa into exile in the Domincan Republic.  Castro’s Cuban revolution, like others in Latin America, was viewed through the prism of Soviet expansionism, creating a violent reaction in the U.S.  During the 1950s, Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) and the House Un-American Activities Committee, whipped up so much anti-Communist paranoia, U.S. civil liberties fell prey to witch-hunts and mass hysteria.  Castro’s revolution created intolerable levels of anxiety in the U.S., prompting President Dwight D. Eisenhower to break off diplomatic relations.

            Fifty years of embargo has done little other than drive Castro, now an invalid, into the hands of the Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation.  Castro’s younger brother Raul has continued to run the communist island, no longer the same threat as Fidel, once the titular head of communist revolutionaries.  Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union reached its peak during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, where President John F. Kenndey forced Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev to back down from installing medium range nuclear missiles in Cuba.  Less than 30 years later, the Soviet Union collapsed, ending Russian adventurism since the end of World War II.  Though Russia still maintains relations with Cuba and other communist regimes, they’re no longer the same threat during in the post-war period.  Today’s U.S. Cuban policy is badly outmoded, calling out for change.

            Recent visits in Cuba and Venezuela by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev indicate that the Cuban embargo and diplomatic ban has backfired.  Russia recently completed joint naval exercises with Venezuela, sending the missile frigate Pyotr Veliky and anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko to the Caribbean. “Cooperation with Russia in different fields is in line with the new realities of a multi-polar world,” said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a vociferous critic of U.S. foreign policy.  Not only has it not changed Cuba’s attitude toward democratic change, it actually boomerganged, forcing the impoverished Caribbean nation to join forces with Russia and Communist China.  When President-elect Obama considers the microcosm of U.S.-Cuban relations, he must also consider the macrocosm or linkage to U.S. foreign policy around the globe.

            Russian’s defensive actions, including recent visits to Cuba and Venezuela, were a direct result of President George W. Bush signing a mutual defense pact with Poland and Czech Republic.  His decision, over Russian objections, to contract with Boeing to complete a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic has brought U.S.-Russian relations to the most dangerous point since the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Medvedev and his predecessor Russian President Vladimir Putin have warned the U.S. about dire consequences should the project go ahead.  When Russia invaded South Ossetia Aug. 8 in response to a Georgian attack, U.S.-backed Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili asked for U.S. and NATO troops.  While the situation was eventually resolved peacefully with the help of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the world came dangerously close to World War III.

            Instead of beating Cuba with a big stick, Obama must recalculate and modify a failed U.S. policy, punishing Cuba for its communist political system.  If the U.S. maintains solid diplomatic relations with China, there’s no coherent reason for continuing Cuba’s embargo and diplomatic vacuum.  Satisfying the political leanings of disgruntled Cuban exiles is no reason for maintaining the economic embargo and diplomatic taboo.  U.N. ambassador designee Susan E. Rice wants a change that “actually tries to catalyze change on the island,” including treatment of dissidents and progress toward democratic reforms.  When Chinese tanks rolled over pro-democracy protestors June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square, the U.S. didn’t embargo Chinese goods.  Incoming Commerce Secretary New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador himself, also believes it’s time for a change.

            President-elect Obama’s Cuba policy should set a tone for a less strident U.S. foreign policy.  Turning the page in Cuba requires an end to the economic embargo and diplomatic taboo.  While normalizing relations will take time, it begins with direct talks between incoming Secretary of State Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Raul Castro.  Vice President-elect Joe Biden has called for reestablishing mail service and easing travel restrictions.  If Cuban cigar aficionados have bypassed travel restrictions and found their way to Havana for many years, it’s high time for the State Department to end the charade.  Whether the U.S. deplores communism or not shouldn’t punish Cubans or U.S. entrepreneurs ready and willing to do business in Cuba.  Whatever Castro or a band of revolutionaries did in the past shouldn't stop the new president from opening up doors and improving relations.

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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