Flashpoint : Obama to continue Bush's failed policy on Cuba

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Obama to continue Bush's failed policy on Cuba

By Brendan McLaughlin

Senator Barack Obama blasted rival John McCain today for a foreign policy consisting mostly of a list of people he refuses to talk to. Turns out Senator Obama has his own list. In my one-on-one interview with Obama right after his speech at the St. Pete Times Forum (see the whole interview here) Obama nearly did a spit take on my suggestion that he might engage the leaders of Hamas. The military and political group is, after all the democratically elected head of the Palestinian authority.

No I've always said they are a terrorist organization that we should not deal with until they denounce terrorism, recognize Israel and abide by their agreements.

O.K.. How about Raul Castro? Surely 45 years of a failed embargo that hasn't set a single Cuban free should deserve a major reexamination.

No normalization. no lifting of the embargo would take place until the cuban people have acheived their freedom

That's precisely the policy couragously advanced by Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon/Ford/Carter/Reagan/Bush/Clinton and Bush. Could it be that "Change" is just a slogan that doesn't apply to issues that might offend Cuban Americans or Jewish voters in a swing state vital to one's election chances? Si, se podria.

Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008 9:33 PM by Brendan

Comments

	Chris said: Brendan your title is very misleading. Obama would not continue the Bush failed policy. Obama stated in your interview he would lift U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances, a position he has been consistent on since 2007. Lifting such restrictions would make life better for Cuban families. For your information Brendon under the Bush administration restrictions to Cuba have been tighten making it harder on Cuban Americans to send money and see loved ones. Lifting these restrictions would be a big "Change" from the policy of George W Bush. Brendon, Obama has also been consistent with the position of not lifting the trade embargo. You remember back in August 2007 Senator Obama made a stop in Miami blasting the presidents harsh position on cuba. Obama made it clear just like in your interview that he would not lift the embargo and that loosening restrictions would be a welcomed change for Cubans. So your original claim that Obama’s foreign policy on Cuba would continue as you state "Bush's failed policy on Cuba" is just not accurate because lifting these harsh restrictions is not following the path of the President. May 22, 2008 12:23 AM
	maz hess said: To be ready to talk doesn't mean to be nice. To listen and to speak loud and clear dosn't mean not to fight. It only means: No more stupid wars. May 22, 2008 7:34 AM
	Brendan said: Obama's plan to relax restrictions on remittances and travel for Cuban Americans with family on the island is a step in the right direction, but it's merely an administrative detail that hardly represents a change in the essential Cuba policy. Obama's stated determination not to lift the embargo until Cuba capitulates to virtually all of the United States' demands is the status quo. I understand why Obama, like every other president since Eisenhower has been pressured to appease this influential voting block in South Florida. What I don't understand is why one of those Presidents hasn't seized the opportunity to make history by blasting open the wall that separates our two countries. The President who lifts the embargo will likely be the President who brings democracy to 11 million people who've been held captive for over 40 years. And he/she could do it without firing a shot. May 24, 2008 9:39 PM