Dateline: Cuba

"I may be as naive as a young child, but I strongly believe that the more the citizens of Cuba can smell freedom, the more they are going to want it." 

Whether you are pro or con on the normalization of relations with Cuba, it seems the "train is leaving the station." I have said this before - I am pro normalization. Trust me - from my Navy days, I know quite a bit about Cuba - warts and all. Mr first boss at IBM escaped with her parents from Cuba during the revolution. She told me stories of cruelty that made my skin crawl. The Castro Boys, as well as their former henchman Che', were far from angels. But now Che' is gone, and the Castro Boys seem to be close behind. 

I may be as naive as a young child, but I strongly believe that the more the citizens of Cuba smell freedom, the more they are going to want it. My belief is they are done with tin horn dictators and Commie thugs. They are going to want honest and fair elections. They are going to want to live the dream just like people in their neighboring countries. They are going to want fair and open trade.

We have already had the first cruise ship make port in Cuba. That was huge. And starting this fall, we will have regular scheduled flights going to and from Cuba. Not just one airline, but six of them. 

Compared to the treaty (agreement) we penned with Iran, this deal with Cuba is about as low risk as you could ask for. With the proper care and feeding, I think this normalization with Cuba could pay some long term benefits for both countries. I would have hated to see us turn our nose up at Cuba and then by January have a Chinese Naval presence at one of their deep water ports. Or even Iran could have gotten in there. Or the Russian Navy. I could think of many bad scenarios should we have decided to take a back seat. 

I am going to be anxious and excited to see how this plays out over the summer and into the fall. I can see many opportunities for the United States to look much more like friends to the Cubans and much less like foes. Me? I would love to take a Sun Country flight down there. I would love to see Hemingway's house. And yes, I would love to smoke a Cuban cigar while sitting at an outside restaurant in Havana while sipping on some Cuban rum.