The Elephant in the Room
Academic Elephant has this concise summation of the arguments against lowering the embargo with Cuba:
...My personal opinion is no. To end the embargo now as Castro is emerging as as great a threat as ever would be interpreted as a great victory for him and a humiliation for the United States. I also have serious reservations about many who oppose the embargo. Ted Kennedy. Jimmy Carter. Noam Chomsky. The United Nations. Those entities have certainly been good negative indicators for me in the past. Also, I fear that our lifting trade restrictions would not lead Castro to do the same. He would be, like his pal Chavez, all too eager to reap the benefits of trade with the US while placing the most stringent restrictions on the activities of US companies in Cuba. It seems all too likely that the opening of trade would be one-way street, with Fidel, who is not inept at lining his pockets with the GDP of Cuba, reaping the profits while continuing to brew up mischief with Chavez.I second the motion. Read the rest here.
1 comment:
"One-Way Street" is correct. Castro, whether an actual Communist, or simply a Tyrant who uses the trappings of communism to add a kind of sick legitimacy to his dictatorship, would never allow non-Cuban companies to do what they wished within Cuba. The restrictions would be unbelievable. He cannot allow any freedom. That would infringe on his vision of himself as the most important thing in the Universe. Freedom would allow some to think of things other than Fidel!
If Jimmuh, and Ted(hic!) are for it, I'm agin' it! But if there are enough fools who can vote for it, they will. :(
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