See You in C-U-B-A

Imagine the Prime Minister of Canada, telling U.S. citizens that they ought to overthrow their national government. It isn't very likely that many people would act on such advice. Canada is, after all, not the United States, and although we share some geographic similarities, there's a world of difference between the two.

Now imagine that because nobody listened to him, Canada simply cut off relations with the United States. It would cause a bit of trouble, but not too much. There's a big world out there, and one country being mad at you isn't usually enough to wreck the ship of state.

This is exactly how it has gone for Cuba, that island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Forty-seven years ago, the United States decided that Cuba needed a regime change and set out to isolate it. The tactic didn't work. The policy made things hard on Cuban-Americans, but the Cubans simply made alliances and trading partners elsewhere. Since then, Cuba allied itself with left-wing militant regimes in South America and Africa.

While the United States has maintained its embargo, Cuba has moved on. Some sanctions hurt Cuba, but the country adapted. The United Nations General Assembly called the sanctions against Cuba illegal in 2007, but they still continue.

President Barack Obama thinks it is time for a change. At the Summit of the Americas, he began a series of overtures intended to thaw relations with our Caribbean neighbor. President Raul Castro has not broken any speed records to get friendly with the United States, but Things are looking better than they have for a long time.

Cuba has reason to distrust the United States. This country has a long history of interference in Cuban affairs since giving the country its independence in 1902. Cubans, who have been made well aware that the United States was punishing them with a trade embargo, are unlikely to clamor for better relations with us.

The source of interest in improving Cuban-American relations comes from a bloc of Cuban-Americans, most of whom are descendants of Cuban immigrants or immigrants themselves. Last week Congress moved toward easing travel restrictions on those who have family in Cuba.

Permitting citizens of both countries to travel freely will go further toward accomplishing U.S. goals for Cuba than trade restrictions ever did. The result of 50 years of icy relations has been that Cuba has tightened its grip on its citizens and isolated them from the modernizing influence of things like computers and Internet. While most readers who see this will do so on the Internet, virtually no Cubans will ever see this, because Internet access is so limited. Connecting to the Internet without permission carries a 5-year prison sentence.

After 50 years, a policy has had ample time to prove its effectiveness. This one has produced few positive results, and it's doubtful it ever will. The Obama administration has made a wise choice in starting to dismantle it.