Is it time to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba?

[madviking]

oh my god yes so i can get my hands on more of that cubano rum.

 

[Leonel]

Why do we have an embargo on them again?

 

[Formaldehyde]

They offer free medical care to even tourists.

 

[Takhisis]

Is it time to end the U.S. embargo on Cuba? Yes, the JFK thread got me thinking of this. I'm literally amazed this still exists. I can only hope when Obama is re-elected (I'm voting for him, are you?), he will end this silly embargo. I don't think Obama will do it before then because he needs to win Florida. It's silly one small group of minorities holds sway over an entire nation. But if you lose that state, you lose the election. What one small group of people want, controls the entire nation. One of the bad aspects of the electoral college, but I digress. So when he's re-elected, the smart move would be to end the embargo. I'm really surprised Clinton didn't do it on his second term. Why not? Anyone have any info. why Clinton didn't do this?

Obviously it should be stopped, if you flood Cuba with Western stuff (decadent-capitalist-malditos imperialistas stuff), then the Cubans will be forced to either clamp down on imports or just let their country be permeated by materialistic values and force them into capitalism. Either way, it works for the US.

Anyways, I'll include a poll. I expect this poll to get 100% in favor of ending the embargo. We shall see. Feel free to discuss any aspects of the embargo, including the political power of one certain minority group in Florida over an entire nation.

To remove the poliitcal power of any minority groups liek Florida Cubans, mormons, Texas gun nuts, Rocky Mountain Hillbillies, Alaskan combat mothers, etc. simply remove the electoral college and make the person with the most votes in the country win.

 

[emzie]

If Obama was going to do it, he would have.

People holding out hope that in his second term Obama is going to transform into a genuine left-wing politician are kidding themselves. He's a fraud with no beliefs who'll just follow whatever available road is the easiest.

The embargo will last until Cuba gets a government that is openly friendly to the US, which may take decades.

Why would lifting the embargo be a left-wing thing?

Why do we have an embargo on them again?

Embarrassment in '59 and then the whole missile crisis.

 

[sophie]

oh my god yes so i can get my hands on more of that cubano rum.

Forget about the rum, think of the cigars, mang!

 

[emzie]

Forget about the rum, think of the cigars, mang!

When I moved to Canada, I bought one just to buy one. I think it dried out. Dunno anything about cigars but the paper is flakey.

 

[GamezRule]

Short answer: Yes.

 

[bernie14]

some of the niknaks my patients have brought back as gifts....(yes, i am not much of a drinker so i have about 10 bottles of cuban rum in my pantry)

i personally would not mind if the embargo was lifted, although i dont think i would visit until significant rforms wher made.....i know people that travel every couple of months, as long as they maintain their cuban passports which cost them around $500 (american) every couple of years.....the cuban economy depends greatly on family members in the US sending all sorts of stuff over there....food is free, other stuff is charged by the lb.

I'm confused. Why are Cuban Americans opposed to lifting the blockade? The insinuation is clearly that they're getting rich of it, but I don't see how, short of smuggling.

you here different stories from differnt people....the majority of post 1980 and many pre 1980 arrivals wnat the embargo lifted so they can send even more stuff to their families....i think the "die hards" actually think that they are going to get their lands/properties back if there is a regime change but have less of a chance if the embargo is lifted while the castros are still in power....

They offer free medical care to even tourists.

not any more....you have to buy "insurance"....relatively cheap by american standards, but healthcare in cuba is not all it's cracked up to be, but thats not what this thread is about....

 

[JohnRM]

Cuba being completely free of American economic entanglement is about as much freedom as you can get in this hemisphere.

 

[Tycho Brahe]

It would have been lifted sooner if Fidel had died. Blame his longevity.

 

[Winner]

It should have been ended in the early 1990s.

On the other hand, less US involvement in Cuba = more business opportunities for others, so...

 

[Oerdin]

Not only would I remove the embargo on Cuba I would also use removing the embargo on Iran as a carrot to see if Iran would give up nuclear technology in exchange for normalized trade relations.

 

[amadeus]

Whatever happened to the free market?

But you don't understand, the Western countries' governments have the consent of their people! Uh, that is, the people that vote. Oh, and the people whose party got elected. But that's still a bunch of them!

Cuba being completely free of American economic entanglement is about as much freedom as you can get in this hemisphere.

Except Cuba is backwards and dysfunctional in all but a few areas. As bad as American foreign policy is, you're infinitely better off living in Chile or Panama.

 

[Leoreth]

No, don't want another country to be corrupted by American mainstream culture

But you don't understand, the Western countries' governments have the consent of their people! Uh, that is, the people that vote. Oh, and the people whose party got elected. But that's still a bunch of them!

Yeah, if we assume everyone who doesn't get their way acts like a spoilt child and this constitutes a lack of legitimacy then.

 

[bathsheba666]

No, keep it.

It's one of those sublime moments of US insightful foreign policy that the rest of the world can savour.

And, unlike, Grenada, it just keeps on giving...

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Cold War is over. Communism is not a threat. This embargo has done nothing but hurt Cuba's economic prospects and harm its people and hasn't weakened the regime at all.

Plus it's blatantly hypocritical to oppose communist states on the basis of "freedom" or some such when we're shaking hands with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other not so benevolent regimes.

As I recall, Cuba is a lot like Vietnam. We could have been friends with both, but decided to cast them aside out of some fanatic anti-communism, and so they fell into the Soviet sphere. And lo and behold where that got us - the near destruction of the human race and America's greatest military blunder.

I'm seeing a pattern.

 

[IAM]

Too many Cubans in Florida and Florida is a contested state come election time soooo won't happen.

 

[Tani Coyote]

I personally always found it strange that so many Cuban-Americans are in favor of the embargo. I understand they desire Castro's removal from power, but surely half a century is enough time to tell that the embargo isn't going to work?

Never mind Castro's retirement from power is already in progress. He's old and likely won't be around much longer.

Then again I hear Raul isn't as much a champion of progress as many had hoped, but the fact this embargo has accomplished nothing but slow Cuba's economy down still stands.

The truest way to liberate a people is to empower them economically, to give them the better quality of life and intellectual and financial resources to stop tyranny in its tracks. We should be developing Cuba to foster liberal democracy, not strangling it.

 

[kramerfan86]

I personally always found it strange that so many Cuban-Americans are in favor of the embargo. I understand they desire Castro's removal from power, but surely half a century is enough time to tell that the embargo isn't going to work?

Never mind Castro's retirement from power is already in progress. He's old and likely won't be around much longer.

Then again I hear Raul isn't as much a champion of progress as many had hoped, but the fact this embargo has accomplished nothing but slow Cuba's economy down still stands.

The truest way to liberate a people is to empower them economically, to give them the better quality of life and intellectual and financial resources to stop tyranny in its tracks. We should be developing Cuba to foster liberal democracy, not strangling it.

Honestly though I think a good chunk of the Cubans down in Florida really dont give a crap about the Cuban citizens in Cuba. I think they simply want revenge for their property being taken from them so they are determined to make sure the Castros dont get rich. Its pathetic really.