Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Hillary et al. on Cuba

Two sites worth watching, both attempting to track presidential candidates’ positions on Cuba policy: one by the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, one by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Neither, unfortunately, has the most flamante of the candidates’ statements so far: Mitt Romney’s “Patria o muerte, venceremos!”

The Fund’s site includes a transcript of an interview with Senator Clinton that is very reminiscent of President Clinton’s statements on Cuba – she carves out a stand-pat, make-no-waves position and supports it by saying that we have to watch changes in Cuba. It’s important to note that it’s early, and her position may be filled out in the campaign or in Senate votes. (She voted to end travel restrictions in 2003.) But for now, to her, greater engagement is not something that is good for American interests given current conditions in Cuba, it’s not a way to promote a flow of information and ideas, it’s not a humanitarian issue. The most she would say about the narrow issue of family travel is that there should be “some discretion.”

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