August 11, 2002
Abandon the Embargo
Let me put this on record, I have no love of Fidel Castro nor his miserable repressive workers paradise of Cuba. However I am rethinking my position on the Embargo of Cuba. But let us face facts that over the last 40+ years or so it hasnt done a dang thing to put Castro out of power. Since the fiasco known as the Bay of Pigs of the Kennedy administration, of the early 1960s, we have seen a basically useless and toothless tactic. Let me elaborate.
Point number one; we, the United States of America are the ONLY country participating in this embargo. Pretty much the rest of the world trades with Cuba. Even with the collapse of the former Soviet Union which, for the most part kept things running in Cuba, Cuba has managed to hang on. So the concept that an embargo would hurt and eventually bring about the downfall of Cuba is at this time rendered ridiculous.
Point number two; some twenty years ago the Soviet satellite, Poland broke ranks and abandoned the Warsaw pack nations and more importantly turned away from its Soviet Masters. Once it was apparent that no military action was going to happen on the part of the Soviets, many other countries followed suit and threw off the yoke of Communism. The Soviet Unions worst nightmare had to fruition. Even IF, they were to use military might. The taste of freedom had been let out of the bottle and simply put they could not have been everywhere at the same time. That coupled with its invasion of Afghanistan, had stretched the Soviet military to its capacity. So here we have seen that all the former Soviet satellites having removed themselves from Communism and rejecting its tenants, then embraced capitalism. And here is a crucial part of the argument; the result has been a noted rise in the individual standard of living and more importantly freedom!
So here is my proposition. KILL THE EMBARGO! Begin trade talk with Cuba. Give them favored nation status if necessary. Heckfire if we can give it to the repressive regimes such as China, and aide in the building of Nuclear plants in North Korea, (something which we cant seem to get done here, and for what reason would they need them their people hardly have a need for electric considering most of them live in such dire poverty but that is another story), then we can getting a fair trade agreement with Cuba should be a piece of cake. I truly believe that once the Cuban people get a taste of what goods and services, and most importantly jobs can be obtained from the corporations that would invest there, they would look at Castro and basically render him a non-persona. Just imagine what a free Cuba would do to the entire Caribbean? The investment of a few trade dollars could reap such huge harvests. This would put Castro in the world spotlight; does one think that he would use his military might to crush this movement? Hed look the fool and even worse like the real dictator that he is in real life. In fact the Cuban people might just have free elections put into place with US inspectors in place to assure a free choice, and it is quite possible that Castro would be thrown on the dust heap of two-bit, cigar smoking dictators.
Simply put, give the Cuban people a taste of personal wealth and freedom and the workers paradise will go the way of the Soviet Union.
Rich
Editor
The BCC
