En Cuba

I've been reading a lot about Cuba lately.

Not just Cuba, but about Che Guevara, Fidel, the Revolution, etc. And I can't avoid the conclusion that the continuing embargo is a) cruel, b) stupid, and c) not in our best interests.

To be fair, there are reasons why we punish a tiny nation with long-standing ties to the U.S.

1) They threatened us with nuclear weapons in the early sixties.....there is that. But before that time the U.S. had sponsored an invasion (Bay of Pigs), attempted several times to assassinate Castro (wonder if Castro kids ever thought about invading the U.S. "'cause he tried ta kill muh daddeh"?), and officially declared we can occupy their country whenever we want (Platt Amendment).

2) The Cuban Revolution dispossessed the U.S. and U.S. companies of assets and will not compensate the owners.....true enough. But we got most of those those assets by bribing corrupt officials of successive regimes.

3) The Cuban government is repressive and brutalizes its one people.....Yup. Probably not as much as the majority of countries with which we do business. China? Russia? Most of the Middle East and Africa?

Lifting the embargo would likely help democratize Cuba. Don't misunderstand; Cuba will never go back to what it was, which was a third world kleptocracy client state. A lot of Cubans are devoted to the Revolution, and it's not hard to see why. Despite shortages and hardship (mostly imposed by the U.S.), Cubans still have free medical care, low infant mortality (lower than the U.S.), free education through graduate school, and guaranteed employment. There are a lot of people in this country who would keep quiet and attend mandatory political rallies for those benefits.

But engagement with Cuba would be a boon to U.S. companies (now prevented from competing with Europe and Canada for joint projects). And those U.S. citizens who lost property in the revolution would have some hope of negotiated compensation.

Finally,Helms-Burton makes us look vindictive, arrogant, and, frankly, a bit silly in the eyes of the world. I deeply respect my ex-brother-in-law who endured hardship in leaving Cuba as a child and made his way in the U.S. A gentle man, he still says he'd gladly kill Fidel with his own hands if he had the chance. But it's been fifty years. And we can't allow raw emotion to dictate our foreign policy.