Obama may set new policy on Cuba's aging revolution

[dbackjon]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five decades after Fidel Castro toppled a U.S.-backed dictator to take power in Cuba, the Cold War rivalry with Washington could be thawing as President-elect Barack Obama looks to ease sanctions against the communist-run island.

Obama has made clear he favors relaxing restrictions on family travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans to Cuba, which this week marks the 50th anniversary of Castro's revolution.

Obama could also reverse other steps taken by outgoing President George W. Bush to tighten sanctions on Cuba, such as the prepayment of food imports from the United States, and he is expected to restore migration talks broken off by Bush.

Experts on Cuba believe modest changes in policy will come quickly, but stop short of lifting the trade embargo first imposed in 1962 or allowing all Americans to travel to the island 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

Obama, who takes office on January 20, will be the 11th U.S. president to deal with the Cuban revolution in a dispute that has outlived the Cold War and took the world to the brink of nuclear war during the 1962 Soviet missile crisis.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politics ... 29?rpc=401&

[dbackjon]

US Policy on Cuba - a long failure that needs to be scrapped completely, IMHO. We trade with China, a far worse regime.

[Gil Dobie]

Maybe Obama fix what Kennedy funked up.

[Col Hogan]

Cuban policy has been dictated, to both parties, by a small, very vocal group of exiles in Florida...

If not for them, I doubt this would have gone on as long as it has...

Will Obama stand up to this group...or just nibble around the edges???

[dbackjon]

Cuban policy has been dictated, to both parties, by a small, very vocal group of exiles in Florida...

If not for them, I doubt this would have gone on as long as it has...

Will Obama stand up to this group...or just nibble around the edges???

Hopefully stand up to them.

[AZGrizFan]

I just wanna be able to get a good cigar.

[UNI88]

Cuban policy has been dictated, to both parties, by a small, very vocal group of exiles in Florida...

If not for them, I doubt this would have gone on as long as it has...

Will Obama stand up to this group...or just nibble around the edges???

I believe that Cuban-Americans helped Obama carry Florida. In the past they've been strong Republican supporters, a switch to Obama might mean that many will support a policy change.

[AZGrizFan]

Cuban policy has been dictated, to both parties, by a small, very vocal group of exiles in Florida...

If not for them, I doubt this would have gone on as long as it has...

Will Obama stand up to this group...or just nibble around the edges???

I believe that Cuban-Americans helped Obama carry Florida. In the past they've been strong Republican supporters, a switch to Obama might mean that many will support a policy change.

Or it could mean he won't carry Florida in 2012.

[Col Hogan]

I believe that Cuban-Americans helped Obama carry Florida. In the past they've been strong Republican supporters, a switch to Obama might mean that many will support a policy change.

Or it could mean he won't carry Florida in 2012.

Exactly what I was thinking...

[dbackjon]

Or it could mean he won't carry Florida in 2012.

Exactly what I was thinking...

Or not.

If the economy is strong, Cuban policy won't mean a hill of beans.

Half of the current voters that give a big enough crap about this to make them single issue voters will be like Fidel, anyways - dead.

[AZGrizFan]

Exactly what I was thinking...

Or not.

If the economy is strong, Cuban policy won't mean a hill of beans.

Half of the current voters that give a big enough crap about this to make them single issue voters will be like Fidel, anyways - dead.

That's a mighty big "if", Jon.

[travelinman67]

Beg to differ over reasons for our continued blockade/tariff on Cuban trade, travel. The voices in Little Havana have effects on local (up to statewide) level, but have been incorrectly attributed as being the continuing cause of the blockade. The real reason was the $2 billion in U.S. assets brazenly, and proudly siezed by Castro in 1960. Those same assets, not including interest would be worth over $31 billion today, and with interest (...the Foreign Claims Settlement Division of D.O.J. has used 6% for their calc's), places the total adjusted claim to somewhere in the ballpark of $82 billion today. Those claims have been codified under Title 22 USC (1600's), which cannot be ignored or written off with the regulatory swipe of the executive branch...regardless of what Prez B and his wonderous band of do-gooders wish. To exacerbate the complexity of those claims, many of them belong to companies still intact and operating, including Ford, Chevron, Shell, Exxon, G.E., and about 20% of all claims coming from international conglomerate ITT (then IT&T, who also owns Starwood Hotels, Cupetelco [the Cuban telephone company], and at various times, ABC, The Hartford Group, Alcatel-Lucent, ESI, and recently EDO).

Now, stand back and ask yourself, given several thousand old-money families in the N.E. owed billions of dollars in federally approved and chaptered international claims, or a few tens of thousands of politically outspoken expats in South Miami, who do you think has the most influence in Washington?

Money talks.

[dbackjon]

T-man,

And who do you think got the law passed? Cuban-Americans.

US-owned assets have been seized many times, in many countries. Only Cuba has been singled out for such treatment.

And look at the history of many of these "assets" - illegally gotten, stolen, etc in the first place.

[ASUMountaineer]

I just wanna be able to get a good cigar.

Yup. Besides, as was mentioned, we trade with China. I guess the wage of workers in Cuba isn't as cheap as China. My grandfather was stationed in Cuba before Castro and said it was great. It was a beautiful country and the people were good people. He's almost dead, they're really not a threat. And, if we open up the lines of communication, perhaps we can use it to keep a better check on Russia.