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More than 50 years after the United States government left Cuba, later this summer Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Havana to reopen the American embassy. The announcement is not entirely a surprise given that normalization of ties had already begun last year.
But while there is widespread agreement that it’s time to let go of Soviet-era policies, activists worry that an uptick in human rights abuses by the Cuban government does not bold well for democracy.
In an opinion article published in the The Boston Globe, President Barack Obama argued his case for congressional action to authorize the US Export-Import Bank, whose mandate has now expired. In it, the president chides the Congress for not acting to keep the project afloat, saying: “Today, small business owners say that they’re more optimistic than they’ve been in years. They’re ready to keep growing and hiring. Washington should not stand in their way.”
Remember how President Obama failed to enforce his “red line” in Syria? Well, it’s happening again — this time in cyberspace.
Two years ago, the Obama administration set out to achieve a deal that would dismantle key elements of Iran’s nuclear program, freeze uranium enrichment for at least a decade, and beef up international inspections to ensure that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. That was a deal worth pursuing — and it still is.
The deal is coming, veritably doomed to succeed. And that’s because at day’s end, the real threat Iran poses may flow now more from the country’s behavior in the region than from a nuclear weapon it may or may not ever choose to develop.
In wake of the Charleston massacre in South Carolina, many on the left want us to believe America is a racist nation dominated by white supremacy and hatred for blacks. They’re wrong.
While the Obama administration’s strategy for Iraq requires substantial upgrading in light of recent Islamic State (or ISIL) successes in and around Ramadi in particular, the plan for Syria is in much worse shape.
The gruesome beheadings of Americans in captivity by IS militants last year prompted sharp and very public criticism by their families over the long-standing strict US stance of no concessions to hostage-takers. Today, the White House announced new guidelines, which will allow families to negotiate and privately pay ransom to win their loved one’s freedom without the threat of prosecution.
In the last couple of weeks, President Obama’s talking points have taken a turn for the weird.
The question of whether Iran, run by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his ayatollahs, is a rational state goes to the very heart of the debate over its nuclear program and the negotiations, now nearing a June 30 deadline, to curb it.
On Friday, House Democrats shocked almost everyone by rejecting key provisions needed to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement the White House wants but much of the party doesn’t.
….Before repudiating Obama’s entire program, it’s worth recalling this: Obamanomics has not failed. It just has not been tried.
The president decided that a deal with Iran is the be-all and end-all of his second term in office. And to reach that deal, he would have to make nice with the clerical regime in Tehran, subordinating all other regional issues that might get in the way.
Time to Accept Change in Relations
Cuban Americans everywhere, but especially the diaspora in South Florida, have been awakening to the reality that Cuba’s isolation was and is not a sustainable strategy.