Quotes regarding a hint towards possible change in US Policy towards Cuba
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Legislators such as Reps. Jo Ann Emerson , R- Mo. , and Rosa DeLauro , D- Conn. , want to pass legislation that would allow all U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba , which would undo prohibitions that the U.S. government has imposed almost continuously since 1962. That embargo prohibits nearly all trade, travel or other types of exchanges with Cuba .
“If you’ve been running the same play for 40 years and you’re not getting results, why not change the play?” Emerson asked. “It’s time to move forward. If we can lift the status of our relations with North Korea or a country like Libya , why can’t we do it with Cuba ?”
“The ultimate goal is the removal of the entire embargo,” said Jake Colvin , the National Foreign Trade Council’s vice president on global trade issues. “Engagement furthers American values more than isolation does. We don’t do these things to help the Cuban government. We do this for the Cuban people.”
Rep. Bill Delahunt , D- Mass. , said that about 50 legislators from both parties supported canceling the travel ban.
“There will be major changes, there’s no doubt,” Delahunt said. “President Obama was clear. We want to move in a different direction.”
Nonetheless….Diaz-Balart……
“It does make it more difficult, but I’m still optimistic because we still have strong bipartisan support in Congress on the big picture,” Diaz-Balart said. “(Obama) could do a lot, and the White House has a lot of power. But here, I take him at his word that he supports the embargo.”
“The prospect of change in 2009 looks better than ever, but it’s not going to come easy,” Anya Landau French , a Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute , an Arlington, Va. -based research center, said at a recent forum on U.S. Cuba policy. ” Cuba is still a back-burner issue.”
Daniel Erikson , a senior associate at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington -based research center
“It might be just too much too fast,” Erikson said. “And the question is where would the initiative come from? It’s not going to come from the congressional leadership. So will it come from the administration?”
So there you have it! Any thoughts?
