Cuban Embargo is a 50 Year FAIL

[RyanPsych]

Jimmy Carter is an exemplary ex-president. He beats the rest of his counterparts hands down. He is in a "league of his own."

The most recent confirmation of this fact was his March 28-31 visit to Cuba where he called for lifting the nearly 51-year-old blockade against Cuba (along with freedom for the Cuban 5 - more about that in another column). I hope that the Obama administration and a majority in Congress will heed his advice.

The blockade, put in place in October 1960, never should have been imposed on the young socialist state in the first place. There was no good reason then and there is even less reason now. A half-century has passed and regime change is still a fool's errand; the Cold War has wound down; and relations with other socialist states like China and Vietnam have been normalized.

Moreover, there is no widespread hue and cry among the American people to continue the blockade. To be sure, sections of the Cuban American community and other right-wing elements are rabid in their support of it, but is their opposition enough to sustain a 50-year economic embargo? I don't think so.

Read the rest at: http://www.peoplesworld.org/cuba-blockade-is-50-year-bad-policy/

[peacetalksforall]

1. It was a mistake to begin with. It was used purely for propaganda after

the murder of Kennedy. The very latest date that they could have dropped it was when the Berlin wall came down. but they couldn't let go of a money maker situation.

It was a 50 year-running PROPAGANDA OPPORTUNITY to maintain fear and keep the weapons contracts coming in. The entire nation of followers in the US were lied to and a nation-island was treated like a 5th country after the USSR stopped supporting the island - and until the rest of the world laughed at us and went their and spent tourist dollars.

It was an equal opportunity money making venture for Dem and Repub Congresspeople.

They alotted money to NED, NED gave it to CANF and others, CANF and others gave money to the Congresspeople - not all of them, but enough to make a citizen sick. Lieberman starred. He also starred in ranting about Cuba, of course - after all the FL congresspeople. Some Cuban-Americans also made excellent incomes. And some are getting a pension from the CIA now. Louis Posada Carilles never had to pay for blowing up Cubana with a Cuban sports teamand other passengers and crew on board. How long is that list of crimes among all the homemade terrorists? How much money did they all make over 50 years?

It was another blight on our history. A 50 year history of making us look like fools.

Imagine this: Imagine if Kennedy had not had US Government and industry enemies in this country and after accusing Oswald and Castro - the US had gone after Castro the way they went after Saddam?

Remember this stupid venture? Elian Gonzalez

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli%C3%A1n_Gonz%C3%A1lez_affair

[former9thward]

2. Unfortunately Florida has been a very close state in presidential elections.

So that means both parties are afraid of offending the Cuban-American community in the Miami area. So the embargo continues.

[Kurmudgeon]

3. If the "young socialist state" hadn't been dealing with Russia, things may have been different.

It is certainly time to investigate dropping the blockade, the reasons for it are long outdated.
However, to say there was no good reason for it is dishonesty at it's best. There was a definite US security concern at the time.
Imagine missiles aimed at the south east US for the past 50 some years. There would have been war, if not right away, eventually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Are you sure your chronology is correct?

Castro assumed power in February 1959.

Eisenhower ordered the CIA to train Cuban exiles for an invasion in March 1960.

Castro begins nationalizing all businesses, including American ones, in July 1960. Not pleasing to the businesses, but not an act of war.

The U.S. institutes the first phase of the embargo, banning exports of everything but food and medicine, in October 1960. The embargo is made total in February 1962.

The U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961.

The Bay of Pigs invasion is launched in April 1961.

The first evidence of Soviet missiles comes in August 1962.

So the embargo PRECEDED the missile crisis, as did the break in diplomatic relations and the Bay of Pigs invasion.