Cuba - a missed opportunity

"Soon, we will have Russian warships steaming into Cuba to send a message to Joe Biden. The message? If the US wants to escalate the Ukrainian war by sending in ATACAMS missiles and F-16 fighters, Russia can also escalate by sending in warships to our back yard. Look familiar? Kind of like the Cuban Missile Crisis? This is another way Joe Biden is bringing us inches within WW III."

Fact: I have always wanted to visit Cuba. I came close a few years back, when a cruise ship I was on needed to change course a bit to avoid a large storm. We ended up skirting around the side of Cuba. I was amazed at how large Cuba was. It seemed to go on forever. But here is the case at hand. This island nation, which sits a mere 90 miles from Key West, is still considered "unfriendly" towards the US. They are unfriendly towards us, and we are unfriendly towards them. Not much has changed since the Cuban revolution of 1963.

Some "way back" history for a minute. Barack Obama (when he was President) thought it was time to thaw some relationship issues with Cuba. Some were for it, some not. My congressman and friend, Tom Emmer - was for it. Only, Emmer wanted to hit the trade issue hard. He and a Democrat Rep from Florida co-sponsored a bill called the Cuba Trade Act of 2015. Some conservatives thought that Emmer had sold out. Especially after going to Cuba with Obama and Senator Amy. But Emmer was looking at the bigger picture - a much bigger picture.

I had a few words with Tom Emmer during that time period. I knew that Emmer had not sold out - there was something else at play here. Emmer told me he was a bit steamed that Obama was the first to try and break the thaw with Cuba. Emmer thought this should have been a Republican thing to bring Cuba out of the Communist stone ages, and into the world of trade and prosperity. Tom Emmer saw no reason why a neighbor, 90 miles away, could not be a good trading partner - maybe even a friend at some time. Through trade, Emmer wanted a better life for the Cuban citizens. The only thing which stood in the way was Raul Castro. Once a dictator, always a dictator.

Anyhow, the support was not there. Obama left office, and President Trump reversed many of the things Obama had set in motion via executive orders. That would include cruise ship port stops and direct flights. Things went back to the age-old status, of being neighbors but not neighborly.

BUT - Cuba still has ties with Russia. Our missed opportunity was after the Iron Curtain fell, and Russia was on its knees, we could have courted Cuba (the right way). Convinced the Castro regime (using lucrative trade opportunities) that it was time to join the modern era. Be a trading partner with the US. That is what Emmer wanted - a "win-win" scenario with Cuba. But that was then, and this is now.

Soon, we will have Russian warships steaming into Cuba to send a message to Joe Biden. The message? If the US wants to escalate the Ukrainian war by sending in ATACAMS missiles and F-16 fighters, Russia can also escalate by sending in warships to our back yard. Look familiar? Kind of like the Cuban Missile Crisis? This is another way Joe Biden is bringing us inches within WW III.

A postscript to this story. Back when it seemed possible that Emmer's Cuban idea might even work, I told Tom I would believe it only when he and I could smoke a LEGAL Cuban cigar in my back yard. So far, I am still waiting. And now with Vladimir Putin playing Mr. Goodbar with Cuba once again, that wait might be a long, long time.