CUBA HAS NO STRATEGIC VALUE FOR THE USA!

Eight years ago ( June 04, 2006 ) I published the following comments about our foreign policy with Cuba.  Today, when President Barack Obama has decided to do something about this failed and unwarranted policy, the arguments in both sides continue to be exactly the same.

I though therefore it was relevant to publish again these comments in an attempt to explain why I continue to stand behind my original comments and hence, support President's Obama decision.

Quote 

While engaging in the discussion of comments posted on the very interesting blog from the Miami Herald columnist Mr. Andres Oppenheimer (find link here), I have come to realize that sooner rather than later we have to leave the Cuba issue behind and move on. Latin America is far more strategically important for our future well being. I am herein quoting some of those comments and my response to them to illustrate the case at hand.
mousqueton said:

Mini-me: You are absolutely right. The US foreign policy in Latin America has been and continues to be Cuban centric and this has been both bad for Latin America and for our interests in the region. Cuba is a very small country, with a small population and a very small GDP. If at all it doesn’t deserve more attention that the one we pay to Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The problem is that Republicans are businessmen and therefore they feel comfortable selling out our interests in Latin America in exchange for the Cuban vote in Florida. A shame and a pity, but it did get them in the White House.

proudcubanamerican said:

“Oye Mosquito, In case you just crawled out from under a rock where you lived with the rest of the tira-flecha indios, Cuba has been at the center of a geo-political crisis in the Western Hemisphere since 1959. That makes it more relevant and important to US foriegn policy than Jamaica, Trinidad and even Mexico.

It was out of Cuba that the world almost got involved in World War III during the Kennedy Administration. Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis?

It was out of Cuba that approximately 2 million exiles have come to this country and built a region of this country (South Florida) that is quite prosperous and very beautiful, thank you.
It is out of Cuba that President Carter suffered his second greatest political defeat (the Mariel boat lift). The Iranian hostage crisis was Carter's worst mistake.

And it is out of Cuba that the US has the opportunity to win the final battle of the Cold War when Fidel dies and the country turns to democracy.

Also, you make a big mistake thinking numbers instead of power. There are only 2 million exiled Cuban Americans in this country. Yet we wield more political power and clout than perhaps the other 60 million Hispanics put together.

Instead of your poorly veiled passive aggressive rip on Cubans, you should try to learn something from us.”

mousqueton said:

My dear proudcubanamerican: Let me start by saying that I do not have any passively aggressive rip against Cubans. As a matter of fact I have the utmost respect for the Cuban people and the Cuban culture. This is, for all the Cuban people and the entire Cuban culture which off course is not limited to Cubans in the US.

IRAN(Q): A BAD FEELING OF DEJA VU

I Know; Long Time, No See! .....  Coming back, slowly but surely!

The following is a very interesting article from Reuters on the so called "covert" war in Iran as well as the comments I left in that publication.

Article:  

Analysis:Not-so-covert Iran war buys West time, raises tension

Mousqueton Comment:

I sure hope they have it right this time! ... we have a very poor track record (victory parades after the invasion of Iraq) when it comes to interpreting the information and feedback as well as understanding the reality of the people and countries in this region. Not to mention that we are not humble enough to recognize that this area, as foreign and strange as it appears to us, was once the center of world knowledge.

It also seems like a good idea to sit back and meditate over the fact, supported by its perfect historic track record, that when it comes to “force” and “violence”, the "dialectic" principle of action and reaction in a never ending and ever growing spiral is indeed an absolute truth.

I am not a bright person and I certainly have no experience on international affairs and/or strategic issues. I do have though some good old common sense that tells me … when  against the wall, even the weakest enemy becomes a “Titan” not because he might win but because he could choose the self-destructing path of going out causing far more devastation than we are willing to endure.

I hate to think that I might wake up in the near future to a headline that reads something like this …

“Iran tested its first atomic bomb in the Strait of Hormuz ....  Deaths: None; Casualties: The World”. 

Do I have a perfect and bright solution? NO; but, I certainly hope that those in charge do!

TOO MUCH NOISE; NO ISSUES!

As I have mentioned before I like visiting and commenting in a most interesting and, I must add, very popular blog called “Venezuela News & Views”.

While I do read many interesting blogs every day, VN&V is kind of exceptional when it comes to attracting a very challenging and intellectually rich crowd that for the most part is concerned with the pervasive influence of Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, in the Latin American region as well as the social and political destruction he is causing inside Venezuela.

One of the regular visitors of VN&V is a gentleman called Kepler. He is a bright Venezuelan professional that lives overseas for whom I have the utmost respect. He is a true liberal with a strong European influence and I still have to find a topic of discussion that he is not well versed on.

Kepler is not a man who will run away from a good intellectual skirmish and I have to say that I treasure dearly all of our online encounters. Recently I found myself discussing with him over a comment I made to a posting on VN&V about the nomination and election of Sarah Palin to the Republican Party ticket.

I have written here a number of posts, perhaps too many, about Mr. Chavez and Venezuela but not a single word on the US presidential election. The reason for this is that even though I have been following closely and even avidly the US presidential election I still have not decided who I will vote for coming November.

I am one of those voters that have traditionally supported Democratic candidates but whose vote is not a “gimme”. Call me old fashion, slow or whatever you want but the fact is that I am a voter whose vote can not be taken for granted. I expect the candidates to make the putt; meaning, I expect them to earn my vote.

This has not happen yet and therefore I could not write about the election because I had nothing to write about. That is, nothing to write about until Kepler challenged me into answering his comments on VN&V.

Kepler has triggered in me a need to start putting my ideas and concerns in perspective and to come up with a short list of particular issues that may not be important for most voters but that are pretty important to me. Issues and concerns over and above the ones I share with most voters and that both candidates, hopefully, will start addressing now that they have been officially nominated by their parties.

VENEZUELA: TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE? THAT IS THE QUESTION!

In the comment thread of the popular Venezuela News & Views blog I engaged in a discussion with a fellow blogger (Citizen Feathers) about the current political situation in Venezuela. After posting comments back and forth we were able to iron out our discrepancies and agree on everything except for one issue. I promised Feathers that I would address this issue in a separate comment but due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to keep my word.

Even though late, I am herewith posting my comments on that issue not only because I gave Feathers my word but because I believe the issue is today more relevant than ever.

I believe that to answer the vote/not vote question we need to take into account two different considerations. One is the constitutional and legal implications of the decision and the other is the personal implications of that decision.

VENEZUELA: VOTES WILL NOT MAKE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM LEGAL

Democracy is not a one size fits all kind of concept. There are many kinds of democracy. There are Monarchical Democracies, Parliamentary Democracies and even Imperial Democracies such as the Japanese. Since 1999 we also have a Bolivarian Democracy. All of these democracies though share one same characteristic; they are all Republican Constitutional Democracies.

In a lighter note you could say that they are different kinds of “Arepas” (Reina Pepiada, Carne Mechada, Queso de Mano, etc.) but they are all “Arepas”.

There are also Popular Democracies (Cuba) and I would even venture and say that we now have what could be considered Religious Democracies such as Iran. They also hold elections but they are completely different systems of government.

These democracies are not “Arepas”; they are “Tortillas”; and, while both are made of corn flour, millions of Mexicans and Venezuelans can attest to the fact that they are absolutely different.