Cuba, Latin America and U.S. Grand Strategy

The U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative talks a lot about the need for a new policy towards Cuba. And we should. Fifty years of failure is a shameful, bi-partisan indictment of how policy is made in Washington.

As we will continue to show, more people, like Senator Arlen Specter, recognize that a change in Cuba policy is on the way. But change for change's sake is foolish, and could easily backfire on the United States.

Fortunately, the emerging consensus on changing our relationship with Cuba coincides with another consensus in Washington, that America needs a major overhaul of all our relations with Latin America. And these two trends are occurring concurrently with the rising influence of Hispanic voters.

But both movements lack strategic coherence.

In my latest post on The Havana Note, I outline a new strategic framework for approaching Latin America, strengthening the rationale for changing Cuba policy in a decisive fashion:

• The single greatest challenge facing the U.S. in the coming decades is to shape an international order that can meet rising global demand for energy, resources, urban land, and transportation--limited significantly by climate change and ecosystem depletion.
• Latin America is already focused on these problems, but the United States still clings to a 20th Century model of our national interest in the Western Hemisphere, dominated by oil, anti-communism, and neo-liberal trade policies.
• The 5th OAS Summit, in April 2009, will present the next President with the opportunity to turn the page with the region, end the Cuban embargo, and redefine U.S. regional interests around sustainability and economic inclusion.

I hope you find it provocative. For more, read the full post here.


Patrick Doherty
Director, U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative
Blogging at: The Havana Note
Deputy Director, American Strategy Program
New America Foundation

For more details on the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative, please contact Patrick Doherty at doherty@newamerica.net, 202-986-2700.

Learn More About: Patrick C. Doherty
Related Programs: American Strategy Program, U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative
Topics: Foreign Policy, Trade & Globalization