"the United States will soon be the only holdout in the hemisphere"
Don't tell me the agenda-pushing, enemy-creating, AmeriKan MSM, oh, never mind, readers....
"US urged to relax Cuba policy to boost regional relations; Opposes island's membership in Latin alliance" by Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post | May 31, 2009
WASHINGTON - The US government is fighting an effort to allow Cuba to return to the Organization of American States after a 47-year suspension. But the resistance is putting it at odds with much of Latin America as the Obama administration is trying to improve relations in the hemisphere.
Eliminating the Cold War-era ban would be largely symbolic, because Cuba has shown no sign of wanting to return to the OAS, the main forum for political cooperation in the hemisphere. But the debate shows how central the topic has become in US relations with an increasingly assertive Latin America. The wrangling over Cuba threatens to dominate a meeting of hemispheric foreign ministers, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, scheduled for Tuesday in Honduras.
Related: Not In Our Back Yard!
"Fifty years after the US . . . made Cuba its litmus test for its commercial and diplomatic ties in Latin America, Latin America is turning the tables," said Julia E. Sweig, a Cuba scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations. Now, she said, Latin countries are "making Cuba the litmus test for the quality of the Obama administration's approach to Latin America."
Sources are the s***, ain't they?
President Obama has said he will not scrap the longtime economic embargo until Havana makes democratic reforms and cleans up its human rights record. Ending the embargo would also entail congressional action.
Like he's one to lecture about human rights!
Obama is facing pressure to move faster, both from Latin American allies and from key US lawmakers. Bipartisan bills are pending in Congress that would eliminate all travel restrictions and ease the embargo.
It's ALWAYS about the AGENDA, isn't it?
Cuba has sent mixed signals about its willingness to respond to the US gestures. Latin American leaders say that isolating Cuba is anachronistic when most countries in the region have established relations with communist nations such as China. The OAS secretary general, Jose Miguel Insulza, has called the organization's 1962 suspension of Cuba "outdated" - noting it is based on the island's alignment with a "communist bloc" that no longer exists. However, he has suggested that OAS members could postpone Cuba's full participation until it showed democratic improvements.
Cuban exile organizations and some US lawmakers are strongly opposed to readmitting the island. "If we invite Cuba back in, in spite of their violations, what message are we sending to the rest of the hemisphere - that it's OK to move backwards away from democracy and human rights, that there will be no repercussions for such actions?" Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, a Cuban American, demanded in a speech. He threatened to cut off US funding for the OAS if the measure passed.
PLEASE DO!!! We DON'T NEED to be FUNDING USELESS ORGANIZATIONS when we are RUNNING a TWO-TRILLION-DOLLAR DEFICIT!
Clinton said last week that Cuba should be readmitted only if it abided by the OAS's Democratic Charter, a set of principles adopted in 2001 that commits countries to hold elections and to respect human rights and press freedoms.
So how come the U.S. is still allowed in?
Most Latin American countries broke relations with Cuba after its 1959 revolution. Nearly all have restored diplomatic ties, and the United States will soon be the only holdout in the hemisphere.
--more--"
And you know what happens to those who are isolated, right, Amurkns?
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras - Clinton herself left the meeting before the final vote.
Oh, that is showing the Latins some respect, 'eh?
The meetings dragged on so long Tuesday night that she did not have time to deliver a prepared speech before flying out of Honduras to join President Obama in Egypt.
Translation: She had to go kiss up to her Zionist masters!
In recent years, with the Cold War fading and left-of-center governments spreading in the Americas, Cuba's isolation melted away. Every country in the hemisphere except for the United States has reestablished relations with Cuba and the US embargo of Cuba is deeply unpopular throughout the region.
--more--"
Thus we get THIS!
WASHINGTON - The Myerses' arrest could affect congressional support for easing tensions with Cuba....
Oh, WHAT a COINCIDENCE, huh?
How FORTUITOUS for the ANTI-CUBAN LOBBY, 'eh?
So HOW LONG wa the GOVERNMENT holding THIS CARD UP ITS SLEEVE (as it WAVES GOODBYE to ISRAELI SPIES)?
Authorities say her comments came during a series of meetings with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Cuban spy in April....
Uh-oh!! ANOTHER INFILTRATING INFORMANT CASE?
The two were charged with conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government and to communicate classified information to the Cuban government. Each is also charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government and with wire fraud....
But ISRAELIS are RELEASED, no charge!
During his time at the intelligence bureau, officials there were dealing with the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and response as well assessments in the run-up to the Iraq war. Court documents say among the information they passed was economic intelligence, which the former intelligence official said makes up much of what information Cuba is interested in from the United States.
--more--"
Well, I guess we won't be reestablishing relations with Cuba anytime soon.
Related: Obama Cozies Up to Cuba
Too bad; I like their health care system!
