A Handshake With Historical Significance

Both this photo and the following portion of an article (by Julie Hirschfeld and Randal C. Archibold) are from the New York Times:

President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba shook hands here on Friday night, and American officials said they would hold discussions on Saturday during a gathering of regional leaders, in the first full-fledged meeting between presidents of the United States and Cuba in more than a half-century.

The expected encounter was not on Mr. Obama’s official schedule, but it held deep significance for the regional meeting, as the president’s move to ease tensions with Cuba has overshadowed the official agenda.

Mr. Obama is nearing a decision on removing Cuba’s three-decade-old designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing progress in the effort to re-establish diplomatic ties after half a century of hostilities.

He spoke by telephone with Mr. Castro before the gathering, and on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Bruno Rodríguez, the Cuban foreign minister — the highest-level session between the governments in more than 50 years — to lay the groundwork for the advancing reconciliation. The much-anticipated handshake on Friday night came as leaders gathered for a welcome dinner, where Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro were seated at the same table, separated by two other people.

It's Time To Normalize Relations With Cuba

The AP photo above is from the website McClatcheyDC. It shows President Obama shaking hands with Cuban President Raul Castro at the funereal of Nelson Mandela. Mr. Castro spoke to President Obama as he made his way to the podium, and Obama stopped a shook his hand and spoke to him.

I'm sure this picture is causing right-wing heads to explode across the nation. They will probably accuse him of appeasing communism. Senator McClain has already shown his idiocy by saying the picture reminded him of Neville Chamberlain shaking hands with Adolph Hitler -- and we'll undoubtably hear even worse things from other right-wingers in the coming days.

I disagree. I think the president just showed good manners and a bit of common decency. It would have been wrong to have shunned Mr. Castro and refused to speak to him or shake his hand. That would have made the president look petty and mean-spirited -- and it would have been disrespectful to the memory of Nelson Mandela to act in such a way when he was being memorialized. Personally, I am proud of the president. He represented us in a way that makes us look good in the eyes of the rest of the world.

This brings me to another question. Why have we not normalized diplomatic relations with the nation of Cuba? For that matter, why did we ever break off those relations in the first place? Neither the Cuban people nor the Cuban government has ever done anything to hurt the United States. The Cubans were our friends, and even after the despicable Bautista was overthrown and Castro assumed leadership of that nation, they would have still liked to have been our friends. All they wanted was for the U.S. to not interfere in their internal matters.

It was the United States that destroyed the friendly relations between the two nations -- by supporting an invasion of Cuba, by trying to force them to have the kind of government and economic system we wanted them to have, and by imposing an embargo that seriously hurt the Cuban economy (an embargo that is still in effect, although the rest of the world stopped honoring it long ago).

The truth is that we had no right to do any of that. And we would be quick to anger and action if Cuba, or any other nation, tried to do that to us. Many will say that our actions were justified because of human rights violations in Cuba. But anyone who looks at the past (and continuing) human rights violations in the United States will know that this excuse is little more than a bad joke.

Other nations, including most of our friends, have normalized relations with Cuba -- and it is time that we followed suit. It is time for us to admit that we have no right to interfere in the politics of any other nation, including Cuba. We should have learned by now that we cannot force other nations to do our bidding (after the embargo failed in Cuba, and military actions have failed in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan).

The Cubans would like to re-establish friendly relations with the United States -- and it is time for us to admit our mistakes and re-establish those diplomatic relations. We don't have to like their government to do that. There are many nations who have governments we don't approve of, but we still maintain diplomatic relations with them. Why can't we do that with Cuba?

Castro To Step Down In 2018

Raul Castro, the current president of Cuba, has said several times in the past that he believes those holding that office should limit their term in office to two five-year terms. Now it looks like he is going to practice what he has been preaching. On Sunday, the 612 deputy Cuban National Assembly chose Mr. Castro to serve a second 5-year term as president (which starts immediately).

Raul Castro took the opportunity to tell the National Assembly (and the Cuban people) that it would be his last term. He said he would leave the office in 2018 (when he would be 86 years old). At that time the Cuban presidency would pass to a younger generation -- to someone who was not a part of the 1959 revolution that kicked out the dictator Bautista and established to current communist government.

And it looks like that future leader may have been chosen. The National Assembly also replaced an 82 year old First Vice-President with a younger man. They chose 52 year old Miguel Diaz-Canel (shown above with President Castro) to be the First Vice-President (the person who would step in if Raul Castro was unable to complete his new term as president). Diaz-Canel is an electrical engineer, who has steadily rose within the party ranks. Many see this appointment as him being the chosen successor to the presidency.

Of course, 2018 is five years away. Things could change between now and then. There could be someone else to rise to the status of being possibly chosen as successor to the Castro's. But I wouldn't bet against Diaz-Canel. At any rate, it will be interesting to see what happens in Cuba in 2018 -- and the direction the new leader will take.

Castro Is Willing To Talk

During his campaign, Barack Obama said if elected, he would allow unlimited Cuban-American family travel and remittances to Cuba. He also said he stood ready to normalize relations and stop the embargo, if Cuba would also take some steps such as releasing political prisoners. I hope he meant that.

I say that because it looks like Cuba is willing to take the first step. Speaking the day after the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, Raul Castro acknowleged the promises made during the campaign, and said he is ready to talk face-to-face without preconditions. The Cubans have also offered to discuss a prisoner release or exchange.

Cuba is taking the first step. I realize it may not be politically feasible for Obama to meet directly with Castro right away, but it is time to normalize relations with Cuba. It is also time to end the embargo (that has failed to accomplish anything for 50 years). The last time the embargo was presented to the United Nations, every civilized country in the world voted against it, except the United States.

Outside of Mexico and Canada, Cuba is our closest neighbor. It is time for our two countries to be friends. Cuba poses no danger to the United States, and it is time we stopped trying to hurt them.

Obama has promised hope and change. It is my fervent desire that this change will include our relationship with Cuba.

Castro Will Run For Re-Election

In July of 2006, Fidel Castro turned the running of the Cuban government over to his brother Raul. He did this because he was very ill and needed intestinal surgery.

At that time, there were celebrations among the conservative element in this country. They were sure that Castro was dying and there would very soon be a revolution in Cuba that would install a pro-United States government. They were wrong.

The operation was successful, and Castro has had a slow but sure recovery from the illness. Raul says Fidel continues to get stronger and gain weight, and exercises for two hours each morning and evening.

As recently as a couple of weeks ago, there were those who said Castro would not stand for re-election because of his health. Raul says that is not true. He says Fidel will be running for parliament in Santiago. That would be the first step in his returning as Cuba's leader. If he is re-elected to parliament, the chances are very good that he would again be chosen President.

It looks like his detractors will have to wait a while longer for Cuba to replace Fidel Castro with another leader. Even then, there is no reason to believe that Cuba would replace him with a leader that would change Cuba's current policies.