Archive for January, 2009
Will President Obama Squander an Opportunity with Cuba
Will the United States squander another opportunity to allow the Cuban people to get a taste of freedom? Today Raul Castro arrived in Moscow for an eight day visit with Russian leaders to discuss increasing economic ties and the “situation in the Caribbean”.
It’s time for President Obama to act boldly and move forward in normalizing Cuban-American relations, otherwise Russia will again get a foot-hold in Cuba and maybe other nations Caribbean too.
More from Fidel Castro; Reflections of Comrade Fidel
Fidel Castro released an article called “Reflections of Comrade Fidel” in which he seems to be telling Cuban officials he’s done, do whatever you want.
According to an article by Niko Price:
The 82-year-old Cuban leader suggested his days are numbered, saying Cuban officials “shouldn’t feel bound by my occasional Reflections, my state of health or my death.”
“I have reduced the Reflections as I had planned this year, so I won’t interfere or get in the way of the (Communist) Party or government comrades in the constant decisions they must make,” he wrote.
Castro on Obama:
“The intelligent and noble face of the first black president of the United States … had transformed itself under the inspiration of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King into a living symbol of the American dream,” he wrote.
Castro praised Obama as honest, writing: “No one could doubt the sincerity of his words when he affirms that he will convert his country into a model of freedom, respect for human rights in the world and the independence of other nations.”
Looks like “Change” is happening in Cuba too.
Fidel Castro Watches Obama Inauguration – Obama Orders Guantanamo Closed
Fidel Castro has emerged for a meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez in which he commented on Obama after watching the Inauguration. According to Fernandez, “Castro believes in Obama”. From the Yahoo article:
“I personally did not have the slightest doubt about the honesty of Obama, the 11th president since Jan. 1, 1959, when he expresses his ideas,” Castro said he told Fernandez.
As to the health of the Bearded One:
Raul Castro said “Do you think if he were really gravely ill that I’d be smiling here?”. “Soon I’m going to take a trip to Europe. You guys think I could leave here if Fidel were really in grave condition?”
Guantanamo
As expected, Barack Obama signed three executive orders dealing with Guantanamo, detention policy options and ensuring lawful detentions.
While most people including Defense Secretary Bob Gates agree that detainees need to be removed from Guantanamo, nobody has a clear answer what should be done with those very dangerous people.
President Barack Obama – It’s a New Day
What a day it is, I just watched will.i.am at The Neighborhood Ball perform It’s a New Day. Wow, I’m truly speechless about the whole day.
One encouraging line from President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech, which I believe spoke to future relations with Cuba was:
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
Today is a day I’ll remember forever, God Bless America.
Obama Should Visit Cuba Like Nixon Visited China
We’re only a few days away from the inauguration of President Barack Obama and again Cuba is in the news.
Obama has signaled that he may close Guantanamo Bay on his first day in office as he works to reverse Bush’s long standing policy on detainees.
An article by William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh at the Los Angeles Times has written an op-ed piece declaring that Obama should go to Cuba similar to the way Nixon visited China in 1972.
U.S. policy toward Cuba today, like policy toward China in 1972, is overdue for change. Relations broke down 50 years ago because Washington was unwilling to countenance a Latin American client state escaping the orbit of U.S. hegemony, and because Fidel Castro was determined to do just that.
In 1972 Nixon faced much of the same old school thinking that prevails today. Let’s hope Obama makes a bold move to normalize relations with Cuba and ends the Cuban embargo soon.
Hillary Clinton talks about Obama’s Cuba Policy
Hillary Clinton spoke yesterday at her Senate conformation hearing on Obama’s Cuba policy, from Reuters:
“The president-elect (Barack Obama) is committed to lifting the family travel restrictions and the remittance restrictions. He believes … that Cuban-Americans are the best ambassadors for democracy, freedom and a free market economy.”
Obama to Order Closing Guantanamo Bay Sooner Rather than Later
Obama may order Guantanamo Bay closed in his first week in office according to this report from ABC:
President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to issue an executive order his first week in office — and perhaps his first day — to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to two presidential transition team advisers.
The Cuban Embargo: Long Enough Don’t Ya Think?
January 1 marked the fifty year anniversary of Fidel Castro as the bearded “Leader of the Revolution.” Much was written about the revolution itself and I also found an good chronology of the last fifty years of the Cuban revolution.
However according to the AP article In communist Cuba, a whiff of rugged individualism, not all is well with the Cuban people:
Alejandro, a farm worker who lives nearby, says the problem is not apathy but a lack of freedom. “Solidarity? Fine. But it is no substitute for political change,” said the 26-year-old, who lives with his parents and didn’t want to cause them problems by giving his surname. “People are ready for new things. There’s a lot of frustration.”
In the Belfast Telegraph article Disappearing Caribbean: The unique Cuban way of life, the most obvious point of the story is how Cuba is stuck in some kind of socialist time warp staring the Bearded One:
The visual grammar of Havana has barely changed since the 1950s. The skyline is the same. So are the fabulous cars – Dodges, Buicks, Cadillacs and Chevrolets, held together with rope and soap – that still patrol the Malecon. The revolutionary slogans on the walls are a stuck record; “Hasta la victoria siempre” recycled decade after static decade. The national newspaper Granma (so named after the cabin cruiser that brought the young Fidel and Raul back to Cuba in 1956) remains a shameless Castro fanzine. Old cars, old buildings, old news – for anyone who does not have to live here it’s a heady mix.
And there’s hope as more mainstream organizations, such as the Council on Foreign Relations contend:
In a significant break from the strategy of the Bush administration, Obama has signaled a willingness to have direct talks with Cuban President Raul Castro. On the campaign trail, he created a small stir when he broke with the status quo on U.S.-Cuba policy, stating that under certain conditions he would repeal restrictions on Cuban-American travel and remittances to Cuba–and, importantly, he was able to do so while retaining moderate popularity among the politically significant bloc of Cuban Americans in Florida’s Dade County.
But not so fast Mario, it seems that All signs point to a Jeb Bush Senate Run. With the popularity of Jeb Bush and his relationship with the Cuban-American community, Andrea Mitchell writes there could be a snag:
Obama’s party now sees a political opening in Florida in 2010, with the announced retirement of Senator Mel Martinez. In vying for the open seat, Democrats could even be facing a popular former governor named Bush — Jeb Bush — who is strongly anti-Castro, and potentially the GOP’s best candidate.
Fellow citizens of Florida, Please don’t let the Bush era of debt-fueled spending make you nostalgic of better economic times. I too remember how well the State of Florida responded to the storms, but don’t confuse good civil disaster preparation with Bush political cronyism. The result could be another Bush in Washington and that ought to scare the BJesus out of you.