Sunday, April 12, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.
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Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, recently led a congressional delegation to Cuba. For the past 50 years, under 11 U.S. presidents, we have not opened any meaningful dialogue with Cuba, to normalize relations and remove the U.S. trade embargo as well as to lift restrictions on travel to and from the island.
We have normalized relations and removed obstacles to trade with countries we have fought in wars, such as Vietnam. And we have normal relations and trade with China and Russia, which supplied our enemies with weapons and technology that killed tens of thousands of Americans in Korea and Vietnam. We also have borrowed billions of dollars from China.
It would be far easier to bring democracy to Cuba, which is 90 miles off of the U.S. coastline, with about 1.5 million Cuban-Americans living in the United States. They would be able to come and go anytime to the island, letting relatives and friends know what lies ahead with changing to an open society and free trade.
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