NEW YORK – “President Obama will ride the wave of sentiment at the Summit of the Americas to move forward US relations with Cuba,” predicted John McAuliff, executive director of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development.
McAuliff, head of a non-governmental organization which led efforts to normalize relations with Vietnam, sees parallels with the past. “Just as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations both prodded and provided international support for Bill Clinton to end the US embargo and normalize relations with Vietnam, the Latin American and Caribbean nations are pushing and enabling Barack Obama to overcome inertia and domestic interest groups with Cuba.”
“Summit Adviser Jeffrey Davidow told the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington last week that Cuba is the ‘odd man out’, but Obama knows we are the ones looking in from the cold. Everyone else at the Summit has economic and political relations with Cuba, and all of them have spoken publicly against the embargo,” McAuliff commented.
He noted Bloomberg.com reported from Brazil this week, “From Venezuelan socialist Hugo Chavez to Mexico’s pro-business Felipe Calderon, leaders view a change in policy toward Cuba as a starting point for reviving U.S. relations with the region, which are at their lowest point in two decades.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a0_zyWMi297I&refer=uk
“Domestically Obama fulfilled his campaign promise and his humanitarian convictions on Monday by allowing unlimited travel and remittances for Cuban Americans,” McAuliff said. “With the exception of hard line politicians, his action was applauded, although some were disappointed he did not go further. A just released poll showed that 79% approved the President’s Cuban American action, but 70% favored allowing all Americans to travel to Cuba.”
http://onthehillblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/americans-favor-new-approach-to-cuba.html
McAuliff urged that, “the logical next step that can be announced at the Summit is to use Presidential authority to provide equal freedom for eleven other categories of non-tourist, people-to-people travel, including educational, religious, humanitarian, cultural and sports.”
“The President who offered dialog and mutual respect to Iran and the Muslim world can’t deny it to our neighbors in Cuba and the Western Hemisphere,” McAuliff argued, acknowledging, “I may be lonely in my optimism, as I was in my early confidence that Obama would win the nomination and election.”
Presidential Options
http://thehavananote.com/2009/04/applying_principle_to_practice.html
Summit Expectations
http://thehavananote.com/2009/04/bon_voyage_mr_president.html
