Did Obama Forget About His “Fresh Start” Wth Latin America?

Did Obama Forget About His “Fresh Start” Wth Latin America?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Saul Landau
Sunday, February 24, 2013

President Obama sounded triumphant notes in his State of the Union (SOTU) address. But he didn’t mention his lack of success in changing policy where it did not work. One such place to look at is Cuba where the fog of unreality has engulfed US- policy for more than half a century. In the policy offices in Washington and on Capital Hill, few seem to notice that attempts to subvert Cuba’s government have not worked. Indeed, return to the Bay of Pigs fiasco of April 1961, the ensuing Missile Crisis that resulted from Cuba’s leaders accepting Soviet nuclear weapons to deter a US invasion threat, and to the failed 50+ years of economic embargo and attempts to isolate Cuba diplomatically.

Each year, Congress allocates money to create mischief on our neighboring island, as if supporting “dissidents” and setting up secret satellite phone and internet groups will somehow bring unhappy Cuban masses onto the streets of their cities to overthrow their government.

~snip~

In the light of a government that has endured for 54 years, made significant investments in its people’s health and education and that functions in as routine a fashion as any government in the Hemisphere, why would Washington policy makers continue to fabricate illusions as the basis for US political strategy, in thinking that continued plotting can overthrow a government that provides to its people free medical care, food subsidies, free education from nursery to PhD and many other social benefits?

You don’t see homeless people in Cuba, or barefoot kids playing hooky from school, or beggars on the downtown streets. Why would policy makers continue to behave as if they could knock off a government that provides its people with benefits American don’t enjoy? Non realism rules on Cuba policy as it has from 1959 on.

More:
http://www.zcommunications.org/did-obama-forget-about-his-fresh-start-wth-latin-america-by-saul-landau