Obama Extends Cuba Trade Embargo 1 Year

Source: Associated Press

(09-14) 11:13 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

President Barack Obama has extended the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba for one year, the White House said in a statement released on Monday.

The extension was expected and has been the practice of all U.S. presidents dating to the 1970s under a section of the so-called "Trading With the Enemy Act."

Obama extended the embargo even though he has made reaching out to old U.S. foes a key plank in his foreign policy.

There have been signs of a possible thaw in U.S.-Cuban ties since Raul Castro early last year took over as president from his ailing brother Fidel. Fidel Castro had held the post since heading the revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed Batista regime on Jan. 1, 1959.

Obama has sought to reach out to Cuba by easing travel and financial restrictions on Americans with family in Cuba. The two countries have said they will hold talks on resuming direct mail links. But Obama has also said he will not lift the embargo until Cuba undertakes democratic and economic reforms.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/09/14/national/w111339D44.DTL

"Trading With the Enemy Act."; The US Government will over through democratically elected people of other countries and put a puppet president in power(i.e. Pinochet) to get what they want, but they will not lift a ridiculous embargo over the very thing that the states has done??

Until 1995 when Clinton normalized relations with Vietnam, then US Corporations fell all over each other trying to get into Vietnam to open up factories and fast-food outlets.

Capitalists know no shame...

which is still officially "Communist"

Really, this sanctions-against-Cuba crap is so stupid. What has Cuba ever done to the US to deserve that?

Then why do we trade with China? China which has almost single handedly stolen our entire manufacturing base?

There has to be some other reason. Maybe anti-Cuba voters are huge campaign contributors. Maybe anti-Cuba factions actually killed Kennedy and threaten all other presidents. Who knows? The bottom line is that continuing the policy actually harms Florida and the US economically and Obama is just continuing his policy of chump change.

reforms while our economic house is up the creek is ridiculous. I don't think Cuba contributed as much to the economic disaste around the world as the US did. I am very disappointed in Obama for not eliminating the embargo...it's hurting thousands of women and children. Obama is beginning to look more and more like Bush every day. Flame away!

Most Americans are completely unaware of this. Cuba settled all claims relating to the nationalization and eminent domain expropriations early on in the Revolution. All except US corporations and exiles living in the USA - because the US Trading w/the Enemy Act prevented them from doing so.

Ignorance is what drives the general idea in the USA that the Cuban government stole US corporate properties and exile's abandoned business and homes. This is patently false. The government of Cuba sought to settle all claims in an arbitration agreeable to all parties, and they did so with all European and other global businesses and citizens just as they would have done with American companies and citizens/residents.

But the US doesn't allow these settlements to be made and the RW Cuba haters (which includes many Dems in general) repeat the canard that Cuba stole these properties and never settled.

If Americans were not travel banned from Cuba travel by the US government then a lot more Americans would learn the truth. Hmmmm. :think:

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Old miscarriages of justice never die, they just stink more and more to high heaven.

be an economic partner down the road if we stop this stupid, dated embargo. Who does it serve?

or not.

can change this at any time.

You guys are finding out what LGBTs found out months ago: Obama can't be relied on to adhere to progressive ideals and principles.

the more things stay the same, the more they change. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Change on, Rahm.

Obama kissing the ass of the Miami gusanos takes the cake!

...and DOH! ...there's so much change I can hardly stand it.

And the Cuban American community. Most of them are Republican anyway, so screw them.
This is one of the dumbest policies we have. It's been in place all these years and Cuba hasn't budged one little bit towards capitalism or a democratically elected leadership.

Frankly, I believe the exact opposite of the current policy would be more effective in achieving our stated goals: If we opened things up, I mean wide open, trade and travel, I think the Cuban people would have access to our ideas and that Cuba would become a freer society. Think...Glasnost.

But, this is one of Washington's foreign policy sacred cows. I think at this point only a Republican could get away with opening up relations. If Obama does it, he'll get reamed for being a commie sympathizer. Oh, wait, he's already being called a marxist, communist, socialist, nazi, fascist, dictator.

Never mind. Maybe next year.

No End to Iraq
No End to Afghanistan
No Public Option
No End to Cuba Ban
No HR 1207

Where is the beef Mr. Obama?

We get the tainted Hamburger! After all it's "Substantially Equivalent" to Steak dont ya know!

wouldnt it be an "economic stimulus" if we were allowed to export things and import things with Cuba? How the hell is this good for us or Cuba?

and this was all predictable from the last speech he made in Miami prior to the Nov. elections.

He's not going to stick his neck out on Cuba, not at least until he can get the health care issue over with. It will just add more fuel to the fire.

Keep making Dubya proud, ok?

Miami Cuban exiles have been granted 1st class citizen/resident status, while the rest of us are relegated to 2nd class status travel banned Americans.

The golpistas in Honduras are lovin' it too.

So are the oligarchs of Haiti.

Colombia's rw gov is lovin' the Obama/Clinton dept o' state and the pentagon.

I could go on, the list is long. The enemies of LatAm social movement are livin' large on our dime.


:puke:

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Fidel needs to be dead first.

continuing the "Patriot Act", he supports evil way too often.