The Cuban Embargo
The key to understanding the foreign policy of a nation state is understanding that
state’s national interest. The key to successful foreign policy is, as Henry Kissinger
stated in 1998, defining “an achievable objective”. Thus United States policy towards
Cuba fails because it neglects these two key ingredients of foreign policy. The US
embargo of Cuba is four decades old and no longer serves the country’s national interest,
rather it has proven to be a economic and political hindrance for the US. The embargo
also falls short in terms of having an achievable goal, since many of the requests that
embargo legislation calls for are simply not within the ability of the Cuban state. By
examining the sanctions and their economic, political, and humanitarian affect on both
the Us and Cuba a strong case can be made for a revision of US policy.
US policy towards Cuba and the government of Fidel Castro has, since the
1960’s, been a policy based on the objectives of removing Castro, instituting a
democratic system, and gaining reparations for confiscated US holdings. The initial
sanctions were instituted because the US considered the close proximity of a communist
state to be a national security threat, and also because Castro’s regime confiscated US
holdings, and thus US control, on the island. By enacting a policy that unilaterally cut
Cuba off from economic and political contact with the US, the US felt that it could force
Castro from power. In the decades since the embargo’s conception legislation has been
created to even further enforce these concepts. In 1992 Congress passed the Cuban
Democracy Act, which prohibited US subsidiaries abroad from having business relations
with Cuba (Ra...
... middle of paper ...
...d away one layer at a time to be
successful. A peeling away of the first layer started in October 2000 when Congress
passed legislation to allow food and medicines to be sold to Cuba. A poll in the Miami
Herald indicated that this bill had the support of over 60% of the Cuban-American
community. This measure, however, is inadequate because it still prohibits US financing
of these sales, public or private. That provision makes the new legislation basically null.
The US government should fully drop legislation against the sale of food and medicine to
Cuba. The US should in regards to these two items allow and endorse trade with Cuba as
it does with other countries. Such a policy, while seemingly small, would benefit
American businesses and help increase the health of the Cuban people and also would
receive enough support to be passed through Congress.
The key to understanding the foreign policy of a nation state is understanding that
state’s national interest. The key to successful foreign policy is, as Henry Kissinger
stated in 1998, defining “an achievable objective”. Thus United States policy towards
Cuba fails because it neglects these two key ingredients of foreign policy. The US
embargo of Cuba is four decades old and no longer serves the country’s national interest,
rather it has proven to be a economic and political hindrance for the US. The embargo
also falls short in terms of having an achievable goal, since many of the requests that
embargo legislation calls for are simply not within the ability of the Cuban state. By
examining the sanctions and their economic, political, and humanitarian affect on both
the Us and Cuba a strong case can be made for a revision of US policy.
US policy towards Cuba and the government of Fidel Castro has, since the
1960’s, been a policy based on the objectives of removing Castro, instituting a
democratic system, and gaining reparations for confiscated US holdings. The initial
sanctions were instituted because the US considered the close proximity of a communist
state to be a national security threat, and also because Castro’s regime confiscated US
holdings, and thus US control, on the island. By enacting a policy that unilaterally cut
Cuba off from economic and political contact with the US, the US felt that it could force
Castro from power. In the decades since the embargo’s conception legislation has been
created to even further enforce these concepts. In 1992 Congress passed the Cuban
Democracy Act, which prohibited US subsidiaries abroad from having business relations
with Cuba (Ra...
... middle of paper ...
...d away one layer at a time to be
successful. A peeling away of the first layer started in October 2000 when Congress
passed legislation to allow food and medicines to be sold to Cuba. A poll in the Miami
Herald indicated that this bill had the support of over 60% of the Cuban-American
community. This measure, however, is inadequate because it still prohibits US financing
of these sales, public or private. That provision makes the new legislation basically null.
The US government should fully drop legislation against the sale of food and medicine to
Cuba. The US should in regards to these two items allow and endorse trade with Cuba as
it does with other countries. Such a policy, while seemingly small, would benefit
American businesses and help increase the health of the Cuban people and also would
receive enough support to be passed through Congress.