Obama for a free Cuba
Barack Obama writes in a recent Miami Herald editorial:
In the ”Cuban spring” of the late 1990s and early years of this decade, dissidents and human-rights activists had more political space than at any time since the beginning of Castro’s rule, and Cuban society experienced a small opening in advancing the cause of freedom for the Cuban people.
U.S. policies — especially the fact that Cuban Americans were allowed to maintain and deepen ties with family on the island — were a key cause of that ”Cuban spring.” Although cut off by the Castro regime’s deplorable March 2003 jailing of 75 of Cuba’s most prominent and courageous dissidents, the opening underscored what is possible with a sensible strategic approach.
We in the United States should do what we can to bring about another such opening, taking certain steps now-and pledging to take additional steps as temporary openings are solidified into lasting change.
Cuban-American connections to family in Cuba are not only a basic right in humanitarian terms, but also our best tool for helping to foster the beginnings of grass-roots democracy on the island. Accordingly, I will grant Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island.
Post-Cold War U.S. Cuba policy tends to border on the ridiculous, as we have no real reasons for continuing to isolate Cuba. Castro is a dictator – yes that’s terrible – but the United States continues to negotiate with and work closely with authoritarian regimes. It seems like the only thing keeping us from opening up with Cuba is the fact that we’re embarrassed over the fact that Castro was able to repel an American invasion forty years ago. We need to stop being a bunch of whiny-ass tittie babies, and instead opt for a sensible Cuba policy. I think that Obama’s proposal is a pretty good first step. I don’t think that suddenly ending the total embargo would work well (from a political standpoint), but allowing families to visit their relatives and send money can pave the way towards a more open Cuba policy and a more open Cuba.
The Bush Administration spends a lot of time talking about the spread of “democracy,” but doesn’t seem to quite understand what that actually entails. If the United States is serious about fostering democratic reform in areas where democracy hasn’t (to use one of Mr. Bush’s phrases) “taken root,” then we should our immense soft power to our advantage. Allowing American Cubans access to Cuba can serve as a way to transmit democratic values and show the Cuban people that it is possible to build a democratic society. Allowing American Cubans to send money to their relatives in Cuba helps reduce the dependency of many Cubans on Castro’s regime, again, fostering an independence from the state that is necessary to the functioning of a democratic society.
Now, I know that I have written a lot against American exceptionalism and my opposition to a foreign policy that includes as its basis a evangelical zeal for “democracy promotion.” And it seems that in this case, I am proposing a policy that would have as its ultimate intention democracy promotion. My opposition to American exceptionalism however is driven by the realization that whenever the United States has spoken about spreading democracy, we are instead planning to use military force to (usually unsuccessfully) achieve a policy result that rarely has anything to do with the direct interest of the United States. I do think though, that we should use our soft power and the reality of our democratic values to encourage reform in places that need it; which means opening dialogues and assisting peaceful activists. Not showering innocents with the warm embrace of an explosive device.
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