• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 10 / 09 / 2010

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Relations between the United States and Cuba have not flourished over five decades because of conditions imposed on Cuba by Washington in exchange for a change in its policy, experts gathered agreed.

The issue was the center of discussions on the second day of a congress of the Latin American Studies Association, LASA 2010, in session in Toronto, attended by over 2,700 experts from three continents.

It was addressed in four panels, including "Cuban Foreign Policy under Raul Castro" and "The USA-Cuba Dialogue: Lessons from the Past, and Prospects for Talks between Obama and Castro."

In the latter, participants referred to personal experiences and documents classified as secret over the years.

Peter R. Kornbluh, an expert of the US National Security Archive, said that declassified documents show that over these years Washington was mistaken in its policy towards Cuba as it failed to recognize and accept the Cuban position, mainly by failing to grasp the benefits of a normalization of relations for the two countries.

In opinion of Robert A. Pastor, a professor of the American University and former national security adviser under the James Carter Administration, the presidency of Barack Obama has not drawn any lesson from the past.

"The Obama Administration had a unique opportunity in the first six months in government to open links with Cuba, and the dialogue would have been successful, but they lost it," he said.

Pastor looked back at his personal experience when Washington decided to talk with Havana in the late 70s.

He recalled and revealed details on his trips and talks with Cuban officials he described as very professional, and mainly of his encounter with leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro.

A conclusion one can draw from his speech is that there has not been, and in fact, there isn't any real US political willingness nowadays to normalize links with Cuba on an equal footing. "There has always been a demand for Cuba to do something first," he noted.

Pastor recalled a humorous anecdote in which Fidel Castro once told him: "I know what your policy towards Cuba is --waiting until I die, but I will not collaborate with that." Pastor lamented that this spirit remains and used the same humorous tone, saying that "we keep waiting until Fidel dies, but he continues failing to collaborate."

Academician Rafael Hernandez lokked back at the policies of presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, the base of the worsening of the bilateral conflict.

William M. Leogrande, Dean of the American University, said that Obama kept the promise made to Cuban-American voters of facilitating family trips, but other than that he has only accepted some marginal measures and maintains the sanctions underpinning the blockade.

As experts deliberated on the matter, a call on President Obama to lift all Cuban trip restrictions circulated in the halls.

The call, made by the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, also called for allowing a normalization of the assistance to humanitarian educational programs to Cuban schools, hospitals, and social service institutions.

By Martin Hacthoun

Prensa Latina Translation Staff