Obama generated a considerable amount of controversy recently when he took the first steps towards normalizing relations with Cuba, acting without Congress which, of course, is within his rights as Chief Executive Officer.
The embargo that the United States has maintained as a matter of high priority policy now for over five decades has clearly not worked. The Castros were once young revolutionaries leading an experiment in a country starving for change, in a world dominated by a political tug-of-war between capitalism and communism. When Cuba fell to the communists, it seemed to mark an unthinkable shift in the balance of power, because communists had now taken over not only in a country in the western hemisphere, but less than 100 miles from the coast of the United States.
For many Americans, that was simply intolerable!
Change needed to happen, and fast! There was a buzz about the need for military intervention and, indeed, there was one. It was called the Bay of Pigs, and it was an absolute disaster. Not only did it not work, but it served as a major embarrassment for the United States.
So, along came the embargo, to try and force the revolutionaries in Cuba, particularly the fiery Fidel Castro (and his brother, Raul) out.
Years passed. Decades passed.
The Castros are now old men with some questions regarding their health. The revolutionary experiment that they led as young men has become instead a Communist regime that has proven to withstand the test of time, with them in charge throughout. Think about it. It outlasted the Soviet Union, which helped to bring it about. It withstood the major political quakes of 1989, when a new kind of revolutionary spirit took hold in eastern Europe, and communist regimes fell, one after the other. Cuba has remained communist throughout, and it remains communist right to the present day.
The embargo has clearly failed. The rest of the world understood this, and turned away from our imposed embargo, beginning to open up and normalize relations again with Cuba.
You think Cuba is alone in isolation? I remember driving years and years ago in Canada, and seeing billboards advertising for vacationing in Cuba. In Fidel Castro's communist Cuba. Europeans also go to vacation there, and plenty of other nations readily have strong economic ties to the Caribbean nation.
About the only country left hanging onto the idea that a regime that has withstood the worst that we threw at them is suddenly about to topple.
When the Bolsheviks, during the Russian revolution, had managed to rule over a regime that managed to stay in power for longer than the revolutionaries during the Paris Commune had, they erected a plaque to mark the occasion. The Soviet experiment with communism lasted from 1917 until 1991, when Gorbachev dismantled the Soviet Union. That is roughly 63 years. China is the next longest, having been communist since 1949, when Mao's forces were victorious and took over, where it remains in power, even though many of the economic policies have taken a decidedly capitalist turn. There is also North Korea, which set up a communist regime shortly after China did, and which has also remained in power right to the present.
After those three nations, Cuba has become the longest lasting communist regime in history. It has lasted since the first revolutionary stirrings in the late 50's/early 60's, and since taking over, has remained in power since. That is well over 50 years! The communist dictatorships that predated it all fell in 1989, lasting a little more than 40 years.
Yet, Cuba remains.
Those who oppose these measures towards normalizing relations with Cuba will argue that he conceded too much, without trying to force human rights in Cuba. They want "regime change" in Cuba. They want the Castros out. Many of these same people voted for Republicans who tried to redefine torture in a pretty transparent effort to permit it. They voted for candidates that took a tough stance on Cuba, and also took a tough stance on Saddam Hussein's Iraq, wanting "regime change" there. Look how well that worked out.
The fact of the matter is that you are never going to please all of the people all of the time. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
The advocates for a hard-line stance on Cuba have had a disproportionately loud voice for a very long time. They have made the same arguments now for as long as Castro has been the head of Cuba.
Their arguments won over for a very long time, influencing American foreign policy.
But you hardly need me to remind you that American foreign policy has not always worked everywhere during that long span of time. In some instances, like in Vietnam and Iraq, there were huge and glaringly clear failures that continue to haunt the United States right to the present. Yet, some advocated those wrong policies during both of those disasters. In fact, some continue to suggest that we went about things the right way in both of those instances, even when hindsight should be twenty-twenty.
Regarding Cuba, America's foreign policy has consistently failed now for over half a century. Yet, there are those who advocate continuing this failed policy. They will argue about human rights, even while they ignore America's own questionable human rights record.
Surely, they will also argue that Castro's regime is about to fall, that it is weak and vulnerable and nearing collapse. These are familiar arguments, of course, because they have been repeated now for over fifty years. If the Castros had been replaced by a young and strong ruler, they probably would still make those same arguments for another fifty years.
There comes a time, however, when we have to admit to failure. And in this instance, when it comes to Cuba, America's foreign policy has consistently failed now for over fifty years. Communism remains in Cuba, and we are now pretty much the only country that is still insisting on maintaining our once widespread embargo.
It has not worked and, yes, that translates to mean that it will not work. On top of it, change is more likely to come to Cuba with more interaction with the rest of the world, not less of it. Look at how much China has changed. Is changing. Look at Vietnam. All of those other dictatorial nations that saw enormous changes.
Are there problems with China, and other countries? Sure there is. Their human rights record often tends to be very poor.
Then again, at this point in time, Americans might well do better not to point their self-righteous fingers at the rest of the world, as they traditionally have done. We might do better to concentrate on our own human rights issues, and clean up our own act.
Which means dropping our stance of knowing what is best for others all of the time. Which means dropping our insistence on "regime change" in countries that we do not get along with.
That includes Cuba. It is time to acknowledge that this thinking has failed, and it is time for some new options, some new solutions. Some new policies. It is time to normalize relations with Cuba.
Obama measures on Cuba trade, travel poke new holes in embargo Reuters By Anna Yukhananov, Matt Spetalnick and Krista Hughes January 15, 2015:
http://news.yahoo.com/u-takes-first-step-ending-cuba-trade-embargo-140346237--sector.html;_ylt=A0LEVxPuRrhUhEUAOD2l87UF;_ylu=X3oDMTEzMHM2c2l2BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTMxXzEEc2VjA3Nj
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