Editor says, what if the earlier collapse of Communism transformed US-Cuba relations? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

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Eric Oppen commented on 2011-04-29 03:45:25 ~ IIRC we had a Republican president in '88...maybe, just like "Only Nixon could go to China," only a Republican could end the Cuba situation.

Allen W. McDonnell commented on 2011-04-29 11:46:18 ~ I wish Gerald Ford had ended it in 1976 following in Nixon's China footsteps so to speak. We don't have to be best buddies but we are and have always been neighbors.

Eric Lipps commented on 2011-04-29 11:51:20 ~ Actually, Kennedy established the embargo to pacify the political right, which was foaming at the mouth after JFK's refusal to launch a full-scale invasion of Cuba in support of the exile army which landed at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. Kennedy had been suckered by Eisenhpower-era holdovers among his advisera, who hasd told him limited support would be enough only to change their tune the instant the exiles came under fire from a Cuban army which turned out not to be, after all, willing to throw down its arms at the first opportunity. The same people who had told the President limited support would be sufficient now were saying they had always expected that a full U.S. invasion would be needed and warning that Kennedy would be impeached if he didn't go along. The Bay of Pigs operation itself had been planned under Eisenhpower by a working group chaired by Vice-President Richard Nixon, whose own ties to Cuban exiles would come into public view during Watergate. The embargo was a compromise intended to punish the Castro regime and encourage popular opposition to it while pacifying those in Congress who thought Kennedy was "soft" on Castro.

Jeff Provine commented on 2011-04-29 18:15:47 ~ Would that it were. If we picked up post-communism relations while the Soviet Union fell, the world would be a much prettier place.