This is what he is afraid of...

I am hoping we will be able to make progress with Cuba now. I don't think we should wait to lift sanctions. If we do it now, we could make a real difference before the next person comes to power. I hear Castro's brother is worse than he was.

We had an interesting discussion about this issue at http://forums.thepoliticalasylum.com

You should check it out of you don't get many replies here.

Why does everyone think its the US Embargo that is holding Cuba back from economic development? Walmart may not be able to open a store (and why would they at this point, no one in Cuba has any money) but the South Koreans could build an auto manufacturing plant, the Germans could build pharmacutical labs, France could build factories etc etc. The United States and Isreal are the only two countries honoring the embargo at this point. Why doesn't any of the rest of the industrialized nations attempt to invest in Cuba? Becuase they all know that Castro will simply steal the factories eventually.

Perhaps the next gang of thieves to take over Cuba will be better but I sincerely doubt it and apparently so does the rest of the world

Nathan, you make some valid points about what would happen if other countries invested in Cuba. But hell if trade was opened up they could sell their antique cars for a pretty price.

__________________
An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

Rob
LOL about the cars. Have you seen the Barett Johnson auctions lately. Cars of my youth are going for 6 and 7 figures now. Fidel could confiscate half the old Fords and Chevys and triple his gross national product overnight

"I suggest that we open trade with Cuba ..."

>>>Not a bad idea, Rob. But when we (the US) trades with a country, our corporatists feel obligated to mess up its government.

george, our corporatists as you call them, just want to protect their investment.

Just so we understand something here, who transformed the middle east from bedoins chasing down camels to the oil sheiks of opec? American oil companies did this and then got kicked out for the locals to develop. Cuba is no different, I don't want to invest money in a country to only lose profits or worse yet loose the company I invested in.

__________________
An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

"who transformed the middle east from bedoins chasing down camels to the oil sheiks of opec? American oil companies did this..."

>>>Yeah, it wasn't a very good idea, was it.

If you invest money anywhere (Cuba included), you should be ready to accept the fact that your cash is at risk and not expect the 7th Fleet to bail you out if your investment goes south.

Exactly the point George, I don't expect the Navy or Marines to bail me out, that is why I don't reccomend anyone doing business with Castro

Right. Hands off Cuba. That's the way they want it. That's the way we SHOULD want it.