With Castro Gone What’s Next For US Cuban Policy?
Ailing dictator Fidel Castro, who for nearly half a century ruled Cuba with iron fist, jailing dissidents and squashing freedoms, announced today that he would be resigning due to health problems.
“I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief,â€Â he told the newspaper, Granma.Â
In the letter, published on Granma’s website during the middle of the night in Cuba, Mr Castro said he would not accept another five-year term as president when the National Assembly meets on Sunday, because of the health problems.
“It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion, that I am not in a physical condition to offer,†he wrote. Â
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Here we have the perfect opportunity to review a Cuban policy that since 1962 has achieved little besides impoverishing the Cuban people, preventing Cuban Americans from visiting their family in Cuba, preventing US citizens from traveling freely, and denying opportunity to US businesses and farmers, all while doing nothing to advance human rights and democracy in Cuba.  As expected the Bush administration announced that there would be no imminent change in US policy towards Cuba.  Yes, there will be boatloads of talk about liberty, but until the real issue gets resolved–the nationalization of US assets in Cuba–the Helms Burton Act, which codifies our Cuban policy into law, will remain in force. Â
Note the paralel between our Cuban embaro and Iraqi policy - the former was intended to weaken and topple Castro, but it had the opposite effect, solidifying his grip on power and entrenching him for some fifty years; we intervened in Iraq to “make ourselves safe from the scourge of freedom haters” and we instead created new armies of “freedom haters”.  Perhaps it’s time for a new approach.  Interventionism isn’t working. Â
What about Obama and Clinton, Â which will be the first to step up to the plate and propose a new direction in US policy? Â With Florida’s 27 electoral votes and the concentration of cuban americans living in Miami this is a potential minefield, but one that must be navigated. Â Here is an opportunity to show some real guts and moral bearing. Â Somehow I suspected I’ll still be getting my Cohibas from Canada for the foreseeable future.Â
