When do we quit?

In 1962 the United States began what I believe now to be the ultimate expression of bull-headed foreign politics, namely the Cuban Trade Embargo.

It was designed to be a means to removing Castro from power, and "protecting" us from communism. Our fears were not wholly unjustified, as the Cuban Missile Crisis followed shortly thereafter. Clearly though, after forty-five years, the strategy has failed. Castro is still in power, planning to pass that power to younger, more vibrant leaders, and communism is as alive as it ever was in the tiny island nation.

More to the point, it has not only failed, but may have even strengthened Castro's position by positioning us as a scapegoat for any government failings.

We now find ourselves, lo these forty-five years later, enforcing a policy which impoverishes the people of Cuba in the name of removing a dictator who has proven immune to public criticism for the sake of retaining an image of authority and power in a world which wholeheartedly disagrees with us. This does not sound like a recipe for success!

Recently the United Nations, an organization we helped establish with the intent of providing a forum for countries to abide by a higher law than their own sovereignty, voted 184 to 4 in favour of a resolution asking the United States to cease the embargo. We refused.

It's time to stop the embargo. As a country we have a difficult time admitting failure. We believe ourselves immune to the normal pitfalls of humanity on the basis that we are somehow God's chosen country. Whether we are God's chosen country or not, we have certainly proven ourselves fallable: deadly sin number seven is pride.