I have often stated that the presidency of Barak Hussein Obama is the fulfillment of Jimmy Carter’s failed term in office.
It was Jimmy Carter who first wanted to pursue full normalization of relations with Cuba. A declassified presidential directive, signed by Carter in March 1977, stated: “I have concluded that we should attempt to achieve normalization of our relations with Cuba.”
In 2002 former President Carter also had the distinction of being the first president current or former, to visit Cuba since Castro’s 1959 revolution.
It was not surprising when President Obama shook hands with Cuba’s dictator Raul Castro a year ago at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. While some expressed shock and outrage, many where convinced something was up. They were right.
It turns out that the Obama administration has been working behind the scenes for the last 18 months or so to arrive at this time and place. The prisoner exchange has gone well, although the White House will not call it that.
Allan Gross and another man described by President Barack Obama as “one of the most important intelligence agents that the United States has ever had in Cuba.” were released on Wednesday.
In a completely unrelated event three Cuban spies were released from prison and allowed to return to Cuba. We know this is unrelated because the White House said so.
The reactions to what the president has done are varied. Cuban Americans point out that Cuba has not improved on its human rights violations and other sins. Not surprisingly, liberal academics and newspapers are giddy with the hope of going directly to Cuba and cigar aficionados are looking forward to getting legal smokes.
The legality of it all is unclear. There are a number of laws on the books that must be addressed by congress. Well, then again that doesn’t stop the president these days. The Cuban embargo was a combination of laws passed by congress and executive orders stretching back to Eisenhower and Kennedy and reissued by every president until Carter.
Carter, of course, also preferred dictators to democracies and would not continue the executive orders. Reagan reversed that course and then congress passed a variety of laws to limit trade and relations with Cuba.
It was not surprising when Jimmy Carter on Thursday praised President Barack Obama’s “political courage” in reestablishing relations with Cuba.
“This is the kind of thing that has been long overdue, and I’m very proud and grateful that President Obama has shown such wisdom and also, I think, political courage in taking these long overdue steps,” Carter told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
It should be understood that the embargo with Cuba has become very porous and pretty much pointless as far as it’s economic effect. However, there was still the principle of the embargo.
If Jimmy Carter and Barak Obama like this move so much, I think we should question it’s wisdom on that point alone.
More here:
Cuba Sunk Refugee Boat One Day Before Obama’s Announcement to Ease Sanctions
