Is it time to end the embargo of Cuba?

[suburban george3]

Our embargo of Cuba has historically cost the US very little strategically or economically, it's been in place since 1961 and has still failed it's objective; the ouster of Castro. Now, with instability in the Middle East and amid rising crude prices we may have economic reasons to revisit our stance on this issue. The recent discovery of vast oil fields in the Cuban Basin of the Florida Straits which could give access to 9.3 billion barrels of oil and 21.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Of course, there are still issues to deal with here. Could there be potential negative environmental effects on Florida and her tourist industry if there was a major accident of any kind in this oil field. Let's not forget the political aspects towards the Cuban community in South Florida.

There is already competing legislation, one which would exempt US oil companies from the embargo so they could participate in the drilling rights there (currently open to foreigh companies, manily Chinese, Indian, Norwegien, Canadian, Brazilian, and Venezualan) but there is other legislation which would would ban visas to executives of foreigh oil companies that drill in Cuba.

Isn't it time to let this embargo go? Castro will die in power as an old man and maybe then change can occur.

Or do we need to hold our course?

MSNBC article about oil field/embargo concerns

[Snowguy716]

Drop the embargo. Cuba is angelic in comparison to "communist" China.. and you don't see us restricting ties with China as time goes on...

Double standards are unnecessary.

[voyager12]

I agree. Castro is a bad dictator but so are many other world leaders and we do business with them. We are not going to change the political system there by ignoring it and hoping it goes away on its own. Increased investment would be a great start. I highly doubt anything is going to change soon though since Castro is fully aligned with Hugo Chavez and is as anti-american as ever. Perhaps when he dies there will be renewed opportunity for dialogue.

[Charlotteman]

Now this is a tricky issue!!!

I lived in Florida 16 years and the feelings toward Castro are quite severe. Let's not forget that Castro nationalized everything way back then, and lots of Americans lost their businesses and properties.

Let's not forget that Castro came close to causing World War III, with his idiotic missle build-up in the early 1960s.

He is a despicable dictator of the worse sort. Remember back in the middle 1980s when HIV poz Cubans were arrested and sent to dirt-floored concentration camps?

For those of you too young to remember, Castro also emptied his prisons during President Carter's administration and sent Cuban prisoners (along with regular Cuban dissidents) to the States in ramshackle craft, and plenty of people died.

Castro stole Cuba from the Cuban people.

But as another post mentioned, take a stroll down memory lane and muster some not so fond memories of Castro's Chinese counterparts. Like Mao--millions dead under his mismanagement and tyranny. Thousands and thousands of Chinese in prison over the years for simply not wanting to be communist. Thousands of Chinese soldiers dead because of China's astonishing assistance to North Korea's communist dictatorship during the Korean War. And who can forget Li Peng---the recent tyrant that agitated within the communist politburo to kill the students in the Tianneman Square massacar.

And yet we deal with a country that is so obviously a basket case when it comes to human liberty and simple decency. There is quite definitely a double standard going on here.

[Gusterfell]

Let's not forget that Castro came close to causing World War III, with his idiotic missle build-up in the early 1960s.

It was Kennedy's overreaction to a perfectly legal Soviet deployment that almost led to WWIII. The Soviet missiles in Cuba were a reaction to the geographically equivalent deployment of American missiles to Turkey. Castro was a pawn of the superpowers, and had relatively little to do with the missile crisis.

As for the embargo, it should be lifted. Castro will not be around much longer, and after his death Cuba will be ripe for foreign investment in any number of industries. The US can choose to get a head start at building a better relationship with Cuba, or to be left behind fighting fifty-year-old rhetorical battles.

[Charlotteman]

The embargo has harmed the Cuban people over the years. But don't forget all the countries in the world who give Cuba foreign aid---for an example Canada and Mexico.

I personally think that when Castro goes, communism goes.

[runawayjim]

The embargo has harmed the Cuban people over the years. But don't forget all the countries in the world who give Cuba foreign aid---for an example Canada and Mexico.

I personally think that when Castro goes, communism goes.

he's already said he won't be in charge of cuba when he's 100

[monsoon]

It was Kennedy's overreaction to a perfectly legal Soviet deployment that almost led to WWIII. The Soviet missiles in Cuba were a reaction to the geographically equivalent deployment of American missiles to Turkey. Castro was a pawn of the superpowers, and had relatively little to do with the missile crisis.

One can argue the legality of the entire Cold War but that would be a waste of time as it still happened. Let's not forget that it was Eisenhower that pushed Castro into the Soviet's hands in the first place and it was Eisenhower that put those Jupiter missles in Turkey. Kennedy's wise and very proper actions led to the missles being removed from both Cuba and Turkey. That is supposed to be how it works. No President is going to allow another power to point nuclear missles at the USA right on our borders as there is no defense against that. Eisenhower elevated the threat, Kennedy removed it.

Contrast that to the "war" we are in today because a President "thought" that a dictator on the other side of the world had a nuclear program. I shutter to think what would have happen during the Cuban missile crisis if the current administration had been in power then.

[runawayjim]

I shutter to think what would have happen during the Cuban missile crisis if the current administration had been in power then.

i'm picturing mushroom clouds. although that probably wouldn't have happened since we could probably remove cuba from the face of the earth with a single blow. imagine if the bomb was dropped in havana rather than hiroshima or nagasaki?

[monsoon]

Possibly, possibly not. The technology of the day was not nearly as advanced as it is today so it was not an assured thing. Also, as it turns out the Soviet troops had nuclear shells on the island, which Kruschev later admitted that he did not have complete control of. It could have gotten quite nasty for both sides very fast. Kennedy took the very prudent plan of not calling for war even though the war hawks in the military put an extreme amount of pressure on him to do so.

[Charlotte_native]

As a realist, the Cuban embargo is a waste of time and money. I completely understand the feelings that Cuban Americans have towards Fidel, but our embargo has done nothing to change that other than harm those left behind. Plenty of other nations vacation in and trade with Cuba, so why not us?

Most other community countries failed on their own. This policy is antique at best and is not in line with the real world of 2006 and as stated earlier, China is far worse and we accept thier faults wholeheartedly.

[runawayjim]

As a realist, the Cuban embargo is a waste of time and money. I completely understand the feelings that Cuban Americans have towards Fidel, but our embargo has done nothing to change that other than harm those left behind. Plenty of other nations vacation in and trade with Cuba, so why not us?

Most other community countries failed on their own. This policy is antique at best and is not in line with the real world of 2006 and as stated earlier, China is far worse and we accept thier faults wholeheartedly.

we support china's faults... just look at google and yahoo.

[waccamatt]

I agree. Castro is a bad dictator but so are many other world leaders and we do business with them. We are not going to change the political system there by ignoring it and hoping it goes away on its own. Increased investment would be a great start. I highly doubt anything is going to change soon though since Castro is fully aligned with Hugo Chavez and is as anti-american as ever. Perhaps when he dies there will be renewed opportunity for dialogue.

Do you think Hugo Chavez is anti-American or anti-George Bush?

I think the embargo on Cuba is a bit absurd today. Castro is a ruthless dictator, but we have diplomatic relations with plenty of other leaders who are worse than Fidel.