One of the reasons the United States Government has such a pigheaded policy toward Cuba is that it pays attention to Frank Calzon.
Here he is testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in July :
4) Raul Castro intends to consolidate his power. He wants to minimize the destabilizing impact of his brother`s death. He has implemented restrictions on foreign journalists and has increased repression. But Havana needs an immediate influx of dollars to prevent an even greater economic crisis, and to ensure that reforms are unnecessary and won`t have to be made. Whenever internal pressure has built in the past, the government cracks down and makes a few concessions. After pressure eases, it delivers a backhanded slap.
Wrong. Raul Castro is in the process of transferring power from his brother to the Cuban Communist Party, now, while the USG is bogged down in Iraq.
And he does not want to embarrass his trading partners in Europe; hence, he has reduced the number of dissidents (beggars, as my Cuban Cuban friend says) in prison by 20%.
That’s importantly NOT consolidating power; that’s transferring it.
The question is Will someone other than Raul or Fidel run for President of the Council of State in May (i.e. Will Raul complete the sucession sooner or later)?
In any event, if he succeeds, he’ll earn a place in World History in his own right.
Our not understanding the significance and character of these events means that we pick unsuccessful strategies. (See US/Cuba relations for the last 50 years.)
For his part, and virtually by his own admission, Mr Calzon is little more than the Washington lobbyist version of the Welfare Queen. Here he is admitting that he receives 1 Million dollars per year from US taxpayers:
...and for the last ten years I`ve been the executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba.
During the current fiscal year the Center for a Free Cuba has received from USAID $l, 081,164 and from the National Endowment for Democracy $21,472.84.
USAID? wow, that’s taking food right out of the mouth a starving kid.
And why? So that we can change the way another population organizes itself? unbelievable.
