| On February 7th, 1962 President John F. Kennedy | | | | population in Florida, with the power of their vote, |
| imposed an economic and trade embargo on the | | | | has helped to sustain the embargo, and is continuing |
| island nation of Cuba and its communist leader Fidel | | | | to do so. A handful of hard-line anti-Castro Republican |
| Castro. Mr. Castro seized control of U.S. owned | | | | and Democrat members of Congress have |
| property on the island and the embargo was meant | | | | threatened to derail the $410 billion spending bill unless |
| to help bring the Castro government down. | | | | the Cuba provisions are removed, but most analysts |
| In 2009, President Barack Obama has finally eased | | | | think the legislation will survive. |
| some the travel and trade restrictions of the | | | | In an earlier post titled, It's Time For Change. . . .In |
| embargo, and may be considering totally ending the | | | | Our Relations With Cuba, I wrote: |
| embargo. While the easing of travel and trade | | | | Ending the embargo would require an act of |
| restrictions are an important first step and will help | | | | Congress because lawmakers wrote key parts of |
| improve conditions for many ordinary Cubans, it will | | | | the restrictions into law in 1992 and 1996. The 1996 |
| not fundamentally alter the relationship between the | | | | law, passed shortly after Cuban fighter jets shot |
| U.S and Cuba. "There is a strong likelihood that | | | | down two planes operated by a Miami-based |
| Obama will announce policy changes prior to the | | | | anti-Castro group, bars the United States from |
| summit," said Daniel Erikson, director of Caribbean | | | | normalizing relations with Cuba as long as Fidel or Raul |
| Programs at the Inter-American Dialogue and author | | | | Castro is involved in the Cuban government. This is |
| of The Cuba Wars. "Loosening travel restrictions | | | | one law that I hope our liberal friends in Congress will |
| would be the easy thing to do and defuse tensions | | | | enact. |
| at the summit." Wayne Smith at the Center for | | | | I still believe that the most valuable export we can |
| International Policy, Washington DC, said: "I think that | | | | provide to the citizens of Cuba is knowledge of the |
| the Obama administration will go ahead and lift | | | | standard of living enjoyed by citizens of a capitalist |
| restrictions on travel of Cuban Americans and | | | | country. Even during this time of severe recession |
| remittance to their families. He may also lift | | | | bordering on depression, our lifestyle and the |
| restrictions on academic travel. | | | | opportunities available to us are so much greater than |
| The embargo has been in place for almost 50 years | | | | anything normal citizens of Cuba can ever hope for. |
| and has really achieved nothing, other than to make | | | | Allowing them the opportunity to actually experience |
| Castro a hero to other fledgling leftist leaders in Latin | | | | a small taste of prosperity will leave them hungering |
| America. Had we ended it years ago, I believe that | | | | for more and will do more to end the communist |
| the Castro regime would be little more than a bad | | | | government than any embargo could ever hope to |
| memory by now. However, the large Cuban exile | | | | accomplish. |