Sounds so perfectly reasonable I expect the teanut outrage weather forecast will be for even more storms.

That's a pretty aggressive schedule. Just think of all the renovations that would be required to bring the building up to 21st century standards.

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This is the former embassy the US had in Havana until it was shut down in 1961.[/center]

Exclusive: U.S. pressing Cuba to restore diplomatic ties before April - officials
By Lesley Wroughton and Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON Fri Feb 6, 2015 11:41am EST


(Reuters) - The United States is pressing Cuba to allow the opening of its embassy in Havana by April, U.S. officials told Reuters, despite the Communist island's demand that it first be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

A refusal by Cuba to allow the United States to quickly establish an official embassy for the first time in half a century could complicate talks between the Cold War foes, reflecting enduring mistrust as they move to end decades of confrontation.
It would also mark the first major setback since President Barack Obama's historic shift in Cuba policy in December, suggesting one of the biggest foreign policy moves of his administration is struggling to achieve even its first goal.

Striking Cuba from the terrorism list could take until June or longer, although the White House is pushing officials to move quickly, said two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the State Department's review to take Cuba off the list.
Washington is eager to re-establish diplomatic ties before a regional summit in Panama in April, when Obama will meet Cuban leader Raul Castro for the first time since 2013, the officials said.

The two leaders announced a historic deal on Dec. 17 to restore relations. U.S. and Cuban diplomats will meet this month or in early March in Washington for a second round of talks. While renewing diplomatic relations could happen quickly, the process to normalize, including removing the U.S. trade embargo, will take far longer.

Cuba has not made removal from the list a condition for restoring ties, U.S. officials said. But Havana made clear during the first round of talks last month that it first wants to be removed from the terrorism list.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/06/us-usa-cuba-idUSKBN0L92Z520150206

we would save the half a billion dollars (2013) it costs us to keep the place open and we could put that toward… oh maybe… SNAP nutrition programs or something...

this would be high on Cuba's list of requirements

but i am not holding my breath.

Agree entirely. I think the US would agree to it, but only on the condition that it be phased out over a 3 to 5 year period. There's too much classified stuff down there that they would have to remove.

State Sponsors of Terrorism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Sponsors_of_Terrorism

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Countries currently on the list: Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria

Countries not on the list: Saudi Arabia and several other deserving nations that I won't name