CUBA….Paul Richter reports on the latest round of neo-Cold War warnings from unnamed “officials” in the Bush administration:
Amid rising tensions over Georgia, U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that Russia is moving to rebuild one of the most dangerous features of the old Soviet Union’s security structure — its alliance with Cuba.
….Russia “has strategic ties to Cuba again, or at least, that’s where they’re going,” a senior U.S. official said recently, speaking, like others, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive implications of the assessments….”It is very Cold War retro,” said a government official. “The topic could be reminiscent of the Cuban missile crisis, and that is a chapter that people don’t want to revisit.”
Could anything be more inane? I mean, ignore the fact that this stuff is probably just generic BS being trotted out to a gullible press. Even if it’s true, we all know there’s a fast and painless way to put the kibosh on it: deep six the lunatic Cuba policy that’s held our political classes hostage for the past 50 years. Tell Raul Castro that we don’t like the way he governs his country, but that we think it’s time to open up constructive relations anyway. Trade, diplomatic relations, investment, cultural exchanges, etc. etc. All the stuff we do with nearly every other country in the world, including the ones we don’t like much. (Like, for example, Russia itself these days.)
Yeah, I’m dreaming. Bush won’t do it, and for that matter even Barack Obama won’t do it. John McCain would rather have his big toe cut off than do it. And Florida is still a swing state. Sigh.
