[NYTr] Obama: Cashing In on Cuba, but He and Hillary Lack Leadership Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 05:53:03 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Toledo Blade - Sep 17, 2007 http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/OPINION02/709170301/-1/OPINION Cashing in on Cuba DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Barack Obama has staked out a reasoned and reasonable position on U.S.-Cuba relations, saying in an op-ed piece in the Miami Herald that he would begin the process of improving relations with and promoting democracy in the communist island nation by eliminating restrictions on how often Cuban-Americans can visit relatives and how much money they can send to family members there. Currently, U.S. policy allows Cuban-Americans one visit of up to 14 days every three years and the right to send family members in Cuba up to $300 per quarter. Naturally, Republicans took the lead in bashing the Illinois senator's idea. GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said U.S. policy toward Cuba should not change until Castro is gone, all political prisoners have been freed, and "free and fair" elections have been held. Mr. Obama, he said, "does not have the strength to confront America's enemies or defend our values." Among Democrats, opinions on Cuba policy fall along a spectrum ranging from Sen. Hillary Clinton's do-nothing-until-Castro-dies stance to Rep. Dennis Kucinich's lift-the-embargo-now position. U.S. policy - a five-decade-old embargo on most travel and trade - obviously has not worked. But Cuba is no longer a Soviet outpost just 90 miles from the U.S. mainland. The geo-political reality is that Cold War is over and the "enemy" the former Massachusetts governor invokes is no threat to American security. Indeed, in recent years Cuba policy has been more closely tied to the importance of the Cuban-American vote in determining who would take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Mr. Obama is clearly not pandering to Cuban-American voters, who generally favor a hard-line approach to the Castro regime, although he may be attempting to lessen the negative impact of his recent statement that he would meet with leaders of rogue states, including Cuba, in the first year of his presidency. Instead, what he appears to be offering is a chance to make up for the short-sightedness of the Bush Administration, which failed to answer when opportunity knocked last year in the form of the Cuban leader's hospitalization. Castro, while recovering from surgery, is 81 years old, frail, and has yet to resume his duties as president. As the United States prepares for life after the aging dictator, what better ambassadors of democracy could the government ask for than the thousands of Cuban-Americans who would carry with them to the land of their birth tales of freedom and cold, hard, American cash? *** Gulf Times (Qatar) - Sep 17, 2007 http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/index.asp?cu_no=2&lng=1 Obama and Hillary lack leadership on Cuba By Ana C Perez SAN FRANCISCO: Senator Barack Obamabs position on Cuba is not what is expected of a visionary new leader. Instead, he is catering to the anti-Castro Cuban-American crowd in Miami in an attempt to gain the Cuban-American vote. Obama has outlined his policy toward Cuba in a document titled bOur Main Goal: Freedom in Cubab. One does not even have to read past the title to know that Obamabs approach continues to follow the failed rhetoric of the last 50 years. On substance, he wonbt even embrace the lifting of restrictions on travel to Cuba. For decades now, the US government has infringed upon the civil rights of all Americans by prohibiting travel to a neighbouring country only 90 miles away. Most Democratic candidates have come out in favour of lifting the restrictions. But not Senator Hillary Clinton, Democrat-New York, who clings to the centre. And not Obama. They are even to the right of some Republicans on this issue. bIf my travel, which I think is my human right, is going to be restricted, then it seems to me that a communist government ought to be the one doing the restricting b not my own government of the US of America,b says Representative Jeff Flake, Republican-Arizona. Flake has worked hard over the last four years to build bipartisan support to lift the travel ban. Many American citizens want to enjoy freedom to travel to Cuba and see the country for themselves. Cuban-Americans yearn for family reunification. And many companies want the opportunity to trade with the island nation. But neither Obama nor Hillary has budged on this. To his credit, Obama has given early support to the rights of Cuban-American families to send remittances without restrictions to their loved ones back home. That is a step in the right direction. Yet his failure to call for ending travel restrictions for all US citizens sends a clear message: that our right to travel does not matter as much as seeking the political favour of well-connected Cuban-American political groups. Thatbs what Obama did when he met with Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia, who is also the former executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation. That organisation is notorious for opposing engagement with Cuba and for militantly denouncing the Castro government. By siding with this crowd, Obama failed to recognise that he was turning off many Latinos. For millions, Cuba still symbolises hope. The Castro government beat back repeated US plots. And it represents an alternative to privatisation and corporate greed. Most people in Latin America understand that free-trade policies have resulted in increased poverty. Obama prides himself on offering new approaches to old problems. Unfortunately, on Cuba, he is still stuck in the past. b MCT [Ana C Perez is the executive director of the Central American Resources Center, based in San Francisco. The writer wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues.] Copyright 2007 Gulf Times Newspaper * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================