Raul Castro: US Must Return Gitmo


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Edit, I should start by saying that at the moment, that's just Raul blowing a bit of hot-air, playing to the home crowd.

I'm surprised the Guantanamo Bay issue has come up so rarely if at all since the December 17 announcement.

It is of course going to be an issue.

With mainland US about 100 miles away, is there any need for it anymore?

How much more expensive must it cost to run a naval base adjacent to an embargoed country than in, for example, Florida?

The extra cost becomes appreciable if you think of just one sample question, who fixes the sewers?

Barack Obama has said he wants to shut it down anyway, an end to the embargo gives another reason.

When multi-party politics comes to Cuba, and I think it would not long after the end of the embargo, shutting down Guantanamo and regaining sovereignty over it is going to be part of the platform for every opposition party. Nationalism sells in elections, especially in a country with a new-found sense of identity, which an end to the US embargo and a multi-party political system would bring to Cubans.

Cubans don't like Guantanamo Bay being there as it is. A naval base is one thing. Without trying to get into US politics, it could be said that it has been used for purposes other than a naval base more recently.

It will be used as a bargaining chip possibly, but it's really only a matter of time. Keeping it open makes no sense to anyone.

If there were generations of "US-Guantanamerans" living there, as there are generations of British Gibraltareans in Gibraltar, that would be different, it's a more complex issue. But there aren't.

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Good luck with that. Countries all over the world have been trying to get rid of US military bases on their soil for decades. As an American I'm in favor of giving Guantanamo back to the Cubans. But Raul knows they're not getting it back anytime soon. As others have suggested, it's definitely in play for him as a bargaining chip.

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Does this demonstrate Castro playing to the home crowd or sticking his nose up at Obama? If you are sincere in working to improve relationships, this is an "interesting" stance to take public.

*Edit - again - posting without comment on US policy... can I have a cookie? LOL

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Relations between the US and Canada won't thaw overnight. It's going to take a lot of time, and a lot of back and forth, to build some trust. I'm not surprised to see Raul take a strong stance in all of this. I'm not sure what his end game is in all of this anyway. Some think lifting the embargo and introducing American investment could eventually lead to the demise of the Castro regime. So he's made it very clear that even if things open up with the US, it's still business as usual with the communism and what not. Perception of strength has always been paramount to the regime, and he'll go all out to avoid showing signs of weakness.

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Relations between the US and Canada won't thaw overnight. It's going to take a lot of time, and a lot of back and forth, to build some trust. I'm not surprised to see Raul take a strong stance in all of this. I'm not sure what his end game is in all of this anyway. Some think lifting the embargo and introducing American investment could eventually lead to the demise of the Castro regime. So he's made it very clear that even if things open up with the US, it's still business as usual with the communism and what not. Perception of strength has always been paramount to the regime, and he'll go all out to avoid showing signs of weakness.

I think by mid-Spring, relations between the US, especially the northern states and Canada will thaw LOL

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I don't think anyone would like Cuba as Canada's 11th province, just because of taxes alone. Not to mention tobbacco rules. I couldn't get cheap vacations and duty free would not apply. That said Canada like Cuba was once at war with the states, but we made ammends over time as I am sure Cuba and the US will . After all we need to ship our elderly to Florida in the winter, so they don't freeze. peace.gif

Regards,

Doug

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