Mr. Hiaasen, meet the kettle

In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Carl Hiaasen, the spokesperson for the Cuban-haters at 1 Herald plaza, says that president Bush's speech is tired and old.

Here's what he told the Cuban military: ``When Cubans rise up to demand their liberty, you've got to make a choice. Will you defend a disgraced and dying order by using force against your own people? Or will you embrace your people's desire for change?''

It's safe to assume that Raúl Castro isn't exactly shaking in his boots. There are no signs that Cuba's armed forces will suddenly turn on him, or that the citizens will spontaneously stage a revolt after Fidel Castro finally kicks the bucket.

Mr. Hiaasen must be able to make this claim because of his clandestine intelligence sources on the island, right? Uh no. There is a fact of life and that's that there are literally hundreds of Cuban officers whose promotions are stalled because there is no movement at the top where the geriatric generals have guaranteed their commands by swearing personal allegiance to the castro brothers. Also there is a division between officers who have been entrusted with the lucrative parts of the Cuban economy such as the tourist sector and those who have not. It would be ridiculous for President Bush to not address these divisions which Hiaasen easily ignores.

Then there are the age old attacks on the embargo. I won't repeat them here. You can read the column yourself. But suffice it to say that Hiaasen doesn't mention the real reason the embargo exists, as punishment for the confiscation of American assets.

It's right for the leader of the world's foremost democracy to get up and talk about the need for human rights, honest elections and freedom of the press in a repressed society such as Cuba.

But when the speech is written as a scold, with only token incentives, it carries no weight or credibility abroad. The words ring arrogantly in the absence of serious dialogue and diplomacy, which have never been the strong points of the Bush foreign-policy brain trust.

Oh and that diplomacy is a strong point of the castro regime? Guess what jackass, the door has ALWAYS BEEN OPEN for Cuba to do the right thing and free the political prisoners, allow political opposition to organize, and make the basic reforms the US requires before sitting down to discuss issues like the embargo. There is nothing new in your stance or Cuba's either? You both want the castros to get something in exchange for nothing. That's not the way it works, idiot. If castro wants something from the US he needs to exchange something for it, to compromise. THAT'S the way diplomacy works. The U.S. is offering plenty. It's offering trade, travel, normal relations, and funds to rebuild. What it's asking for is basic and it's the castro refusal to give the Cuban people those basic rights that keeps the embargo in place. It's easy to blame America, when your worldview is that America is the root of all evil.

Another old argument that Hiaasen gives is that this was just domestic politics. It's hilarious that Hiaasen accuses the president of being unoriginal when he himself plagiarized the entire Joe Garcia play book. What election is GWB trying to win? Last time I checked, the constitution of the United States prevents him from running for President again. And the Ros Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balarts don't face another election for another year, an eternity in congressional politics.

''The Socialist paradise is a tropical gulag,'' Bush declared somberly, flanked by relatives of imprisoned Cuban dissidents.

As usual, the president didn't mention the hundreds of political prisoners locked up by countries with whom we maintain robust and productive relationships, including Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. None of those governments allow free elections, or a free press.

Only a dolt would suggest that the US have a one-size-fits-all foreign policy. Needless to say the situations in the three countries that Hiaasen mentions are vastly different than in Cuba. China settled its debt with the US and though it's still a terrible dictatorship it has made great steps in the area of economic reforms that we hope will someday lead to political reform. Cuba has refused to allow but the tiniest of economic reforms and those were pulled back once hugo chavez stepped in to subsidize the island. The situation in Russia bears watching as Putin is proving to be quite the dictator but, again the situation is not analogous and Russia is not the totalitarian country it once was. Besides Mr. Hiaasen is arguing that two wrongs make a right.

Bush had an opportunity to set a new tone by at least acknowledging that the future of Cuba belongs exclusively to the Cuban people. Unfortunately, that wasn't his target audience.

Instead, he made the same old macho speech, pandering to the same old crowd, and playing right into the hands of Fidel and Raúl.

Bush did acknowledge that the future of Cuba belongs to Cubans. Duh. That's why the US doesn't just land the Marines tomorrow. It's the castros that are preventing them from doing anything about that future. Hiaasen shows a basic lack of understanding of how totalitarian regimes work and in particular how fidel castro thinks.

And "playing right into the hands of fidel and raul"? Really? In January of 2009 George Bush is going to get on a plane to Crawford Texas and live out the rest of his life as a rich, free man who may have made a lot of mistakes but at least tried to liberate millions of people, while history will expose fidel and raul for being the cruel tyrants and oppressors that they are. Yes the future of Cuba is in Cuban hands. And it's time to support those who would stand up to tyranny and stop trying to accommodate the tyrants.

Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at October 28, 2007 10:52 AM

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Posted by: Mambi at October 28, 2007 07:22 PM

Posted by: Claudia at October 28, 2007 08:19 PM

Posted by: Henry "Conductor" Gomez at October 28, 2007 09:09 PM

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