Analytic Comparison

The United States since the 1960s has imposed an embargo against the Communist island nation of Cuba which is located only 90 miles off the Florida’s coast. The Cubans refer to the embargo as "the blockade" or "el bloqueo", which involves various economic sanctions against Cuba and travel restrictions and no commerce among people of the U.S and those of Cuba. However, the Obama administration on Mar. 15, 2016 (Gomez, 2016) gave the announcement that there will be a relaxation of two restrictions of Cuba embargo by allowing more commerce activities between the countries and enabling easier travel to Cuba. Other restrictions of the embargo are still in effect. The issue of U.S and Cuba relations has been a subject of controversy especially after Obama’s took office as exemplified in the two articles by Peter Brookes, "Keeping the Embargo" published at www.heritage.org, on Apr. 16, 2009 and that of Michael Dunne, Ending the hegemonic presumption?" published by Blackwell in 2013. These authors provide different views about the U.S –Cuba relations.

Brookes supports the need to continue with the embargo on Cuba has never met the conditions passed by the US. Brookes argues that there is no need for lifting the embargo on Cuba has not improved its human rights and has not transitioned to democracy. Dunne provides a different view arguing that the Cuba embargo should be lifted since it is a failed policy that traces back to the Cold War and has clearly failed to attain its goals.

Brookes is making use of human rights, the issues of democracy and economic concerns to argue that the embargo should remain as it was in the 1960s. Dunne article examines various sources to support his thesis that the American desire to have control over Cuba is an old fashion approach just like Monroe’s Doctrine. He says that the need of control does change over time as they have in Monroe’s injunctions interpretations. Dunne uses extensive sources that make his article more captivating and convincing that show us the validity of his arguments.

Brookes first begins his argument by stating that the United States has to maintain the Cuba embargo since to-date Cuba has not met its required conditions for uplifting it. He states that the US law requires Cuba to legalize their political activities, commit to free and fair elections as it transitions to a representative democracy and release all political prisoners. The US laws according to Brookes also expects the Cuban government to grant the press its freedom, allow labor unions and respect the internationally recognized human rights. Now that the government of Cuba has not met these conditions, then the embargo should not be uplifted. Brookes also states that the United States will look weak if it decides to end the embargo government of Cuba meets the conditions indicated by the US law. He writes that lifting the sanctions unilaterally would be an appeasement act that may trigger Cuba to join forces with other countries that hold to the anti-Americans sentiments like Nicaragua, Venezuela, Iran, China and Bolivia (Hovasse, 2008). Also, Cuba can decide to join the Western Hemisphere of socialism. Brookes indicates that the big US economic embargo against Cuba is one of the things that Havana wants it done away with not even without the concessions on the part of Cuba. Brookes warns that, Lifting the embargo will not help in normalizing relations but will instead legitimize the waving of the white flag to the fifty years that Fidel has fought the Yaquis and it will further lionize the dictator and also encourages the Latina American left. Also, Brooke’s points out that unblocking the embargo will result into the nationalization of the economy. Trade between the U.S and Cuba results into pouring of more cash to the Cuban nation’s coffers, and this allows Havana to bolster its communist agenda abroad and suppress dissent at home. He writes, "The last thing that we can think of doing is to fill the pockets of a regime that can make use of those profits to keep on oppressing the Cuban people. Brookes also points out that the Cuban government does not offer any form of security to the foreign journalist and it restrict its people from accessing foreign news through the internet and censors the local media. Brookes is also not keen with the human-rights and political situation in Cuba (Kennedy, 2013). The author also shows that the regime is holding over 200 political dissidents in jail than not even rats can live in them. Thus to Brookes, Cuba is a nation that can become a serious menace to the interests of US in Latin America as well as the Caribbean and far beyond such as looking to partner with China, Iran, and Russia. Brookes also states that with the passing of the embargo, it has managed to stifle Havana and since then its ambitions have not been realized and Cuba has not caused any problem since then (Brookes, 23).

Dunne in his article, "Recent writing on US-Cuban relations," is an in-depth review of various sources that look into the Cuba-United States relations. Under this review, Dunne aims to answer the historical puzzle and give more explicit policy options for American side changes. The question being," what can account to the hostility that America has to a country about the size of Tennessee?" (Robles, 2009). Also, he answers the question of whether it is the responsibility of the continuing cold war is shared between the two countries and what can be done on each side to improve the relations? In an in-depth discussion, the author uses books which he divides for the knowledgeable and those aimed at the interested newcomer. He Dunne offers a series of Cuba’s historical pointers which have emerged to the very extreme distaste of Americans by the end of the 1950s (Brookes, 2009). Under the topic of history and geography, he shows the happenings of Cuba’s major historical events and the role of Cuban leaders in either serving or not serving the American interest, economically, strategically and politically. Under the topic of periodization and Cuba-US relations, Dunne looks at the period from the start of the Cuban revolution to the events that happened in more recent times. In doing so, he uses sources that have analyzed the pre-revolutionary Cuba. An example of the recent event is on Bernell’s work that covers the Reagan era all through to the Obama’s way for relations with the US and Cuba (Wasem, 2009).

Under the agenda for change we examine Dunne’s final thoughts about the Cuban-US relations. He uses two sources that support his thesis on lifting the embargo as well as the need for a general relaxation of tensions between Cuba and the US. First source is the report from the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force entitled U.S.?Latin American relations and the second being the Shifting the balance which is a Bookings volume. These sources show the effort of shifting the US policy, especially with the case of Cuba. The report analyzes the issue of security, poverty, migration and energy (Gedda, 2001). It recommends that the US should abandon the old ways of thinking so as to maximize its use of multilateral organizations. Here, Dunne shows that United States has to act unilaterally towards Cuba and end the more than a half-century of sanctions designed to either overthrow or destabilize the regime or bring liberal democracy to this island. Dunne shows that the desire of America to control Cuba is as old as the Monroe Doctrine and adds that what control can mean has changed with time and indeed has a different interpretations of the injunctions of Monroe (Dunne, 2010). He ends by stating that the US leaderships, domination, hegemony, re-colonization and imperialisms. All have been denounced and embarrassed and made synonymous with Monroe (Hackman, 2008).

Conclusion

The two articles provide different styles in the presentation of arguments and persuasion. Brookes addresses the issue of maintaining the embargo using emotional sentiments and predictions of native aspects that might happen to the United States when it decided to uplift the embargo. Dunne on the other hand, provides a comprehensive analysis of books and other sources that have shown that the embargo towards Cuba is an outdated policy that needs to be done away with. He equates the embargo with the Monroe injunctions.

References

Dunne, M. (2010).Review article ‘Ending the hegemonic presumption’? Recent writings on US?Cuban relations.

Peter Brookes, Keeping the Embargo. Heritage Foundation.

Hovasse, A. (2011) 20 Years Since the Fall of the Soviet Union, The Atlantic. 23, 2011

Ruth Wasem, Cuban Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends, Service, fas.org, 2009

Gedda, G. (2001)Diplomat Recalls Cuba Break in 1961, Associated Press, Jan. 1, 2001

Frances Robles, Cuba Keeps More Political Prisoners per Capita, Associated Press, available at freerepublic.com, 2007

Hackman, M. Barack Obama Will Be the First Sitting President to Visit Cuba in 88 Years, vox.com, 2016

Kennedy, M First U.S.-Cuba Commercial Flight in More Than 50 Years Has Landed, npr.org, 2016

Gomez, A. Obama Lifts Restrictions on Cuban Rum, Cigars," USAToday, 2016

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