The once and future U.S. embassy in Havana
What have we here, from the new romance department?
News no tabloid would ever touch. Here’s the scoop: The Obama-Castro romance is now about to be tested on a first date, and three key features of this crucial encounter have been revealed.
1. An admission by a White House official that the first round of talks with the Castro Kingdom will involve the issue of restrictions on diplomats.
Diplomacy –much like dating — is a two-way street. If country A (in this case Castrogonia) grants certain privileges to the diplomats from nation B (in this case the U.S.), then country A (Castrogonia) is going to demand that its diplomats enjoy the same privileges inside of country B (the U.S.).
So, get ready for an intensification of all sorts of Castronoid shenanigans in the U.S. Whatever privileges are granted within Castrogonia to U.S. diplomats by the Castro regime will also be granted to Castrogonian diplomats by the U.S.
2. Another admission by the White House: only frothy issues will be discussed, like oil spills, drug trafficking, and health care. A discussion of human rights issues is not on the table. Forget about it.
3. Yet another admission by the White House: touchy subjects such as the billions of dollars stolen from U.S. businesses by the Castro regime or the presence of American criminals in Castrogonia will not be discussed either. Again, get ready for reciprocity on that two-way street. If American criminals in Castrogonia are returned to the U.S, then Castrogonia will demand the return of certain Cuban “criminals” in the U.S., and that might include anyone who has opposed the Castro regime. And if some refund scheme for confiscated property is ever agreed upon, you can be sure that Castrogonia will demand that all its frozen assets be returned as tit-for-tat, perhaps with a bonus on top for all of the “abuse” it suffered at the hands of eleven U.S. presidents.
The dating has begun. Get ready for lots of awkward moments, disappointments, and curled-toe excitement for all onlookers.
Abridged article from Granma Lite (The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — American officials head to Havana this week with fairly modest goals of cooperation with the Cuban government, seeking an end to restrictions on the U.S. Interests Section there so that an embassy — and symbol of the two countries’ new relationship — can eventually be established….
….A senior administration official said the Obama administration has concrete if limited objectives for the discussions Wednesday through Friday. They include American diplomats being reaccredited in Cuba and facing no travel restrictions, no limits on the number of U.S. diplomats in the country, unimpeded shipments to the U.S. mission and free access for Cubans to the mission. Jacobson will meet Cuban activists and civil society representatives, as well.
How quickly the Cubans meet the requests related to the Interests Section will help determine when the two countries can re-establish embassies, post ambassadors in each other’s capitals and restore full diplomatic relations, the official said. Reporters were briefed on this process Monday on the talks on condition the official not be quoted by name….
The U.S. wants to accelerate further the level of engagement between the two countries, the senior administration official said. Whereas the U.S. and Cuba found some common ground in recent years on oil spill prevention efforts and counter-narcotics work, Washington wants to explore disease monitoring and law enforcement cooperation.
For decades some of America’s most-wanted fugitives have lived unmolested in Cuba, frustrating U.S. efforts to apprehend them. They include Joanne Chesimard, a Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army member now known as Assata Shakur, who was convicted in 1977 of killing a New Jersey state trooper and sentenced to life in prison. She escaped and fled to Cuba.
The official cited no progress yet on efforts to return people whom the U.S. considers to be criminals, but Cuba sees as worthy of political asylum.
Billions of dollars in claims against the Cuban government pose another hurdle. The official suggested some process for settling these claims would have to be created for relations between the U.S. and Cuba to be normalized.
