Posted on 12/29/2001 2:23:37 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Why Cuban embargo matters
Re several recent Readers' Forum letters in support of lifting the U.S. embargo against Cuba:
The 1962 imposition of the embargo against Cuba during the Kennedy administration was because the Cuban goverment took American citizens' property without compensation.
From 1962 to 1989, the Cuban government received billions of dollars in subsidies from the Soviet Union, without any comfort going to the people of Cuba.
That money was used to buy weapons for incursions by the Cuban military into Grenada, the Congo, Ethiopia and to support the lethal guerrillas in Latin America.
The Cuban government doesn't have foreign credit because it doesn't pay its debts.
Yet, some people are asking for the embargo to end, but they never ask for payment for the stolen U.S. property.
The problem with the Cuban economy is its goverment's economic system, which failed in the Soviet Union and will do so in every other country where they don't allow free, individual exercise of human potential through private enterprise.
In 1958 Cuba had one of the world's best fed populations, not only because of its rich soil and long coast line, but because of the high productivity of its people. This productivity is reproduced by Cuban exiles in the United States and every country where they find refuge.
The fact that this letter with its opinion can be published in a newspaper in this country but not in Cuba shows only a small part of the Cuban tragedy.
DARIO MIYARES
Miami
The time may be right pretty soon.
(Luis may have some comments regarding ADM)
This is always the point that goes unanswered by those that favor lifting the embargo. WHAT makes them think that all of a sudden the Cuban gov't will go altruistic and start coughing up $$$ to the populace. Hasn't happened thus far!
Thanks for the ping, john. well said, Dario!
You nailed it, my friend. Good morning, btw =^)
This is very difficult to address. There are fewer people who remember the exact circumstances of what happened when Fidel Castro captured Cuba. They basically stole millions of dollars in American assets and have never returned any of it. The USA can never expect the liberal media to update the current generation on these facts unless they would be the ones to benefit by it, and judging by how they behaved during the "Elian Tragedy", they aren't going to be on the right side.
I have not idea how to approach this without going into the necessity of simple removing the the Cuban Communists and starting all over again. The problem in doing this of course of how do you go about it without causing further hardships for innocent Cubans?
A lot of people say,"Well, if they wanted freedom, they would fight and take the island for themselves. Why should they come here?"
I have to remind them, just what exactly did their ancestors do when confronted with religious persecution in Europe? Hmmmmm? "Uhm, they went to America?" Yup. Keep inmind that the colonists were quite content until the British tried to tax them into the ground, then they got mad, but there was no one there to prevent them from organizing and forming a resolve. By the time the troops landed, it was already too late to kill the idea of freedom and liberty.
Right now if you tried to have a private meeting in Cuba, if you weren't gunned down the moment they kicked in the door you'd be hauled off to jail for the rest of your life. This would apply for anyone from Cub Scouts to full blown armed revolutionaries.
At any rate, I think we have a man in office who is more than capable of dealing with Castro, and even Castro knows this. Perhaps this is why were are beginning to chip away at the current embargo. If Castro can get his hand on enough "Depends" maybe he feels he can step down with some dignity still left.
Jo Ann, my Representative made a trip to Cuba last year and broke bread with Fidel, thats when I broke support for her. Now, have to see who her opponent will be in next election.
An interesting comparison is with Greece. The Greeks have a population of about the same size but they have a GDP of $182B and the people earn about $17,000 per year. Greece has never been accused of being an economic power house but they show very clearly the utter failure of the Cuban model.
Yeah, just like it's easy for people in todays society to say things like:
"I would never have been a slave, I would have told those slavers to kiss my butt"
And:
"I would have never wound up in one of Hitlers camps, or have been under the rule of Pharoah.. I would have taken up arms against them"
That truth is, you would have done both or died right then and there. It's easy to talk when it's not you in the situation.
Also, imho.. The Cuban people need more than weapons to overthrow Castro.. They need confidence and leadership.
Two things Castro spends alot of time and money psyching them out of. He even has a museum dedicated to failed espionage attempts.
Let's put on on China also, since they are the greater threat. and are similar in their immoral and oppressive practices against the citizenry.
The only thing I don't want is a double standard.
BUSH. ...There are some folks in our country who believe we ought to trade with Cuba. I don't. I think that would be wrong-headed. I think it's be a mistake. Capital that goes into Cuba will be used by the Fidel Castro government to prop itself up. There is a commission-type system in Cuba. Dollars invested will be dollars that will end up supporting this totalitarian regime. It's in our best interests for us to promote freedom in the island right off the coast of Florida. It's in our best interest to keep the pressure on Fidel Castro until he allows free elections, free press and free the prisoners in that island. And for those Americans that believe that trade with Cuba will cause Castro to become less totalitarian, in my judgment are naïve and wrong.
BAUER. Governor, you just made the case for withdrawing most favored nation status from China.
BUSH. I did not.
BAUER. Everything that you just said about Cuba applies to China.
BUSH. May I answer that please?
RUSSERT. Please.
BUSH. There is a huge difference, a huge difference between trading with an entrepreneurial class like that which is growing in China and allowing a Fidel Castro government to skim capital moneys off the top of capital investment. There's a huge difference, a huge difference.
BAUER. Governor, one-third of the trade with China is with companies controlled by the People's Liberation Army.
BUSH. Gary.
BAUER. You know that and I know that. Tell the people rotting in the prisons of China that there's any difference between Castro's Cuba and Communist China. There is none.
BUSH. Let me say this. If we turn our back on the entrepreneurial class that is taking wing in China, we're making a huge mistake. If we turn our back on those that have gotten a whiff of freedom as a result of the marketplace taking hold, we're making a big mistake.
BAUER. Listen, I --
BUSH. We're making a big mistake. We're making a big mistake.
BAUER. The People's Liberation is O.K.?
BUSH. No it's not. I'm talking about the entrepreneurial class that is growing in the country of China.
BAUER. Sir, they are using that money for a massive arms buildup that our sons will have to deal with down the road.
BUSH. Only if you're the president.
BAUER. You can't be tough on China and not on --
BUSH. If I'm the president --
(BOTH TALKING AT ONCE)
RUSSERT. Mr. Bauer. Mr. Bauer, Mr. Bush. Let me move to another area..
Sounds Clintonian.
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