Posted on 12/18/2014 5:16:57 AM PST by LeoMcNeil
President Obama declared yesterday the United States would begin a new chapter with Cuba. Obama already began negotiating with Cuba regarding a prisoner swap among with other issues. For years Obama has told Congress he would keep them in the loop regarding Cuba. Predictably Congress had no idea the Obama administration was negotiating with the Communist dictatorship. Yesterday’s announcement came as a surprise to everyone. As with every other negotiation with a hostile foreign power, Obama got completely taken by the Cuban Communists. Obama negotiates from a position of American weakness because he doesn’t believe in American strength. Obama’s flirtations with Cuba are utterly foolish.
Earlier this year Cuba and Russia signed a mutual defense pact. Just last month Russia announced that it was sending long ranger bombers to Cuba. So of course it’s the perfect time to normalize relations with Cuba! Actually, it would be a good time to negotiate a normalization of relations with Cuba. However, not in the manner that Obama is negotiating. The only way the United States should agree to negotiate with Cuba is if they refuse to allow Russian military personnel and equipment in their country. That’s just to negotiate, if Cuba wants to normalize relations with the United States it will have to reduce or eliminate their relations with Russia. That’s how you negotiate with a state like Cuba. Instead Obama has given Cuba everything it wants in exchange for one prisoner.
Part of the problem here is that Obama negotiated with Cuba in secret. Our Cuban policy is half a century old. If we’re going to change our policy it deserves a national debate. Instead, Obama negotiated in secret because he knows the anti-Castro lobby would thwart a change in policy. It’s curious that the President waited until after the midterm elections to announce this. It’s equally as curious that he waited until this point in his presidency to try to change our diplomatic relations with Cuba. Obama avoided Cuba becoming a big part of either the recent mid-term election or the other two elections since he became President. The problem for him is that not only do the Republicans control the House beginning next year, they also hold an 8 seat majority in the Senate. All of his secret negotiations could come to naught if Congress refuses to fund an embassy in Havanna. An even bigger problem could be the confirmation of an ambassador to Cuba. Surely the President doesn’t imagine that will go over well in a Republican Senate.
The problem with negotiating in secret and leaving Congress out of the Cuba decision is that Congress will actually be necessary in order to make substantial changes in our Cuban relations. The American embargo is codified in law passed by Congress. Obviously the embargo is a major issue for the Cubans. President Obama can’t simply eliminate the embargo, it’s part of American law. This President is of course prone to ignore the law or try to rewrite the law via executive order or memorandums. However he cannot negotiate with Cuba an end to the embargo because while he might try to unilaterally suspend the embargo the next President can easily put it back in place. A suspension of the embargo for a year or two isn’t going to satisfy the Castro regime. By leaving Congress out of the initial negotiations, Obama has made it even more difficult to normalize relations with Cuba. Congress is going to be less likely to play along.
After half a century there’s nothing wrong with the United States reevaluating its diplomatic position with Cuba. It’s hardly surprising that a leftist like Obama is the one pushing this. However, even if it is Obama trying to start a debate on Cuba it’s a debate worth having. Obama left the country and Congress out of the debate, which is a major problem. While the Constitution gives the President the duty of deal with foreign powers, he still relies on Congress to fund embassies and policies and he still requires the Senate to confirm ambassadors. Worse, he negotiates from a place of extreme weakness. The United States has a shot to reduce Russian influence in the western hemisphere via Cuba. Instead of trying to normalize relations with Cuba based on that principle, the President ignores Russian military training in Cuba. Why should the United States prop up the Castro regime with Russian planes training in Cuba? Unfortunately our President is more interested in photo ops and historical legacies to be written half a century from now than he is in securing what’s best for the United States.
The Undocumented Moslem was much more flexible
after he LOST the election (and decided like
Feinstein that America must pay for the insult).
Ronald Reagan showed us that the way to bring down a communist dictatorship was to trade with them thus exposing the people to our way of life causing them to create their own regime change the same thing should work very well in Cuba picture the successful Cubans in South Florida and elsewhere flying “home” to visit relatives and telling them of life in the US. The Castro’s own cronies will turn on them. The same concept is working albeit very slowly with China they now have a “middle class” with something to lose. Too bad DC keeps wanting to turn our country in the wrong direction.
I disagree! He has always sided with Communists and dictators. He is doing everything he can to destroy this nation and must be impeached before it is too late.
I would be in favor of lifting the embargo for several reasons, the most important of which is that it has not worked. The rest of the world trades with Cuba.
also, we could then end this game that cigar smokers play of having cigars shipped from Bermuda or Canada in plain brown packages.
Under any other President, I might be assured that other strategies might be employed to bring down the Castros and liberate the Cuban people, and remove this canker from the Western Hemisphere. But with this President, who agrees with the Castros’ professed ideology, I can’t be sure.
you are absolutely correct and I’ll add that once relations are normalized, you’ll see a flood of undocumented illegals - this is nothing more than opening an additional Mexican front/border
Prior to that...
If one was concerned about Obama's amnesty/open borders/refusal to deport violent & repeat offender illegals, imagine how his efforts with Cuba/Iran are going to pay violent dividends here in the US under this new 'normalization' invasion effort.
With an anticipated welcome wagon for fully indoctrinated/seasoned henchmen infused with indignant Marxism/Muhammedism will likely stir this multicultural/polarized social construct prior to the 2016 election cycle.
I hope this backfires BIG TIME on Obozo and his fellow Marxist travelers. I pray for freedom for Cubans.......but not seeing how these changes can help them.
“O” is an idiot with the attention span of a cocker spaniel.
ALL he wants to do is grab headlines... let the chips fall where they may.
He has NO grasp of ANYTHING beyond the superficial.
President Clowar-Piven’s only goal is to overwhelm the system, so disasters are actually triumphs.
You have to understand that for the US to come out ahead in presidential level negotiations, the President must have the best interests of the US in mind. Obama does not. Remember that and everything else makes sense.
I changed it to "bush disaster" and got 83.8 million hits (which would presumably include hits on G.H.W.B. as well).
Interesting...
As an enemy islamist he’s doing a thorough job on all of us.
Is there any guarantee that the Castro regime will allow common citizens to benefit from foreign trade? If they already trade with Canada, France, England etc then why isn’t the country in better shape and its people more free? What is the magic elixir of U.S. goods and services that is going to magically change the situation?
I read once that virtually all the money from resorts open to foreigners goes into the hands of the elites. I’m wondering if Castro’s thugs will allow their people any relief from the worker’s paradise?
Seriously? Examples?
Blue jeans and Coke brought down the Soviet Union.
Cuban cigars are over-rated because of their forbidden nature. I smoked a couple in Montreal and know a guy in Houston that smuggles them in. His aren’t exceptional either.
When I moved to Houston in the late 60s, Coors beer had the same mystique. It was only made in Golden, wasn’t pasteurized and had to be refrigerated from brewery to retailer. Their marketing area was quite small. Whenever I traveled from Houston to western Kansas, several people would plead for me to bring back Coors.
I’m by no means a cigar aficionado, however, I have enjoyed Montecristo #2’s when I was out of the US. I agree that they are not substantially better than cigars made elsewhere, and in come cases, worse because they were often rolled too tightly.
the tobacco is appreciably better because of the soil, and what might happen when the embargo is over is that Cuban tobacco will be used in cigars made elsewhere.
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