Reply #21: Here's an article on the hypocrisy of trading with China & shafting Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

It's from December 2001, but still very worth reading. Small snip:

"The Administration's idea that we must maintain the embargo in place in order to pressure Cuba to move toward democracy and respect for human rights is totally wrong," says Wayne S. Smith, Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1979-1982. "As many dissidents in Cuba point out, the more we pressure, the more defensive the Cuban government becomes and the less propitious the atmosphere for positive change. We could do far more to encourage the kind of liberalization the American people want to see by easing tension, beginning a dialogue with the Cuban government and moving to dismantle the embargo."
(snip)

Many non-profit organizations also question the inconsistent economic policy toward these two nations. Bob Boehm, co-chair of the Fund for New Priorities in America, states that "the contrast between the treatment of Cuba and that of China is extreme. The arguments favoring the embargo have been demolished on all sides. We advocate the total abolition of the embargo and all its oppressive and anti-human aspects."
(snip)

In a recent editorial, former California Gov. Jerry Brown wrote that "political maturity demands that the U.S. exercise its capacity to trade and coexist with nations of whose systems it does not approve." He also reminded readers that almost two decades ago, the U.S. promised it would lift the embargo if Castro fulfilled 3 requirements, which he did. The U.S. response, however, was not to lift the embargo but to tighten it through the Cuba Democracy Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act in 1996.
(snip)

Equally important, no matter where one stands on either China or Cuba, one should be outraged that a small group of people are dictating foreign policy for the entire nation and are able to do so largely because of their access to large sums of money. In the case of Cuba, there are other reasons, of course, including presidential candidates' willingness to do anything to gain Florida's 25 electoral votes. But money is still the overriding factor.
(snip/...)

http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/cuba/sustainable/impactPress120101.html