Obama is, quite simply, not up to the task of heading up American foreign policy. In statement after statement, Obama has shown that he’s unaware of the realities of world politics as well as America’s position in the world – and John McCain is calling him on it:
ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain today issued the following statement on Senator Obama’s remarks on Cuba during last night’s Democratic debate:
“Not so long ago Senator Obama favored complete normalization of relations with Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Last night, he said that as president he’d meet with the imprisoned island’s new leader ‘without preconditions.’ So Raul Castro gets an audience with an American president, and all the prestige such a meeting confers, without having to release political prisoners, allow free media, political parties, and labor unions, or schedule internationally monitored free elections.
“Instead, Senator Obama says he would meet Cuba’s dictator without any such steps in the hope that talk will make things better for Cuba’s oppressed people. Meet, talk, and hope may be a sound approach in a state legislature, but it is dangerously naive in international diplomacy where the oppressed look to America for hope and adversaries wish us ill.”
This is Obama hoping for change – he hopes that if he meets Raul Castro, there will be change. This is an amazingly ignorant view of the true state of affairs in Cuba, where Raul Castro has played the heavy for older brother Fidel for nearly a half a century. Legitimize Raul, and all you’ll do is tighten the shackles on the people of Cuba. It is time, Senator Obama, for Cuba to be free – which means you should agree to meet with Raul only after he’s opened up his nation to the light of liberty.
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Christian,
I cannot believe that you would seek to justify the actions of these two murderers. They executed people who did not agree with them. Their goal was to solidify their power (which they did a ruthlessly efficient job of).
Raul Castro is just as bad as either Fidel or Che. He was involved with the blood bath/executions after Fidel took power in Cuba. Wanting to meet with another murderous thug shows how naive Obama is. But I guess, when you are pandering to the Christian Wright’s of America, he may not be that naive.
18. Christian Wright
Social Democracy? In CUBA? What a joke.
Lets see who ran for President!!
For the liberals; Fidel Castro
For the Conservatives; Fidel Casto
For the Green Party that want to save the world and make peace with Aliens: Fidel Castro
Wow. Deja vu. Reminds me of the old USSR…oh…double wammy…..and PUTIN!!
BTW; dont count the bodies in Cuba, democracies dont jail people for being politically active (not)
Wake up CW. You have been listening to the old school hippie socialists that are still under the delusion of Acid.
winnow,
The whole statement, in context, is what is wrong – the man doesn’t understand that as long as the Castro regime is in place, Cuba will not be free…he could at least demand the freedom of those poor people who tried to start an independent library before meeting the Cuban tyrant, couldn’t he?
His views just show how entirely out to lunch he is in foreign affairs – he be a disaster of Carteresque proportions.
If we can talk to Russia, and if we can talk to China, then we can talk to Cuba and carry on normal relations.
oh they have a dictator? Then I guess we need to stop talking to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, North Korea,
Etc Etc Etc.
In statement after statement, Obama has shown that he’s unaware of the realities of world politics as well as America’s position in the world
Mark,
you have a very short term memory. McCain raised the same issues against our current president during the 2000 elections.
When it comes to Cuba, once again Mark, you have a short term memory.
Was Cuba a free society before Castro?
http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/batista.htm
Batista was our main man in Cuba for over 30 years.
It’s odd you supported brutal dictators such has him and you loved doing business with him…yet the mention of even talking to Castro causes you so much angst.
Why were you so supportive of working with Batista, yet against working with Castro?
Christian Wright | February 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Che & Fidel were idealists. Their goal was to free the people of Cuba from capitalist tyranny.
The only people they executed were those convicted of capital crimes; …….
Good God CW, do do not really believe that do you?
Castro was an idealist? He was a dictator. Just like Batista was. The people of Cuba exchanged a capitalist dictator for a communist dictator.
The only attack I can remember on Cuba was called the Bay of Pigs. Anybody remember who ordered that disaster? Some Donkey President who called it Cuber, and called off US support of the Cuban invaders at the last minute, guaranteeing their defeat. Oh yea, John F. Kennedy, Democrat. Hmm.
What difference does that make Micheal? The international relationship still hasn’t improved in what,50 some years?
Doesn’t matter who screwed the pooch,and I say this about either Liebral or Conservative. Normalizing relations and bringing Cuba up to standard on human rights should be a priority.
The greatest thing that Nixon did do was normalizing relations with China. I’d say that the current president agrees,since he borrows money hand over fist from them.
In the embargo, JFK launched an overt war with Cuba that has been waged by every administration since.
Our government’s only real problem with Cuba is that American tourists would quite quickly finance a successful socialist state 90 miles off our coast. Not a good example to those around the world aspiring to some degree of self sufficiency and certainly not a good example for the American people as a whole.