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02/09/13 - Boston Globe - Editorial: Cuba's reforms pave way for new US policy, too

RELATIONS BETWEEN the United States and Cuba have been stuck since the
United States imposed a full economic embargo in 1962, and during the
election season neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney signaled much
desire to change the status quo. Yet while Americans have been looking
elsewhere, significant change has come to Cuba. The communist government of
the ruling Castro brothers, Fidel and Raul, is in the midst of a slow
experiment to promote economic entrepreneurship. Late last year, Cuba
instituted reforms to its immigration policies that allow Cubans to travel
abroad freely and allow those who have emigrated or fled to return home.
These changes, and the beginning of Obama's second term, create an unusual
opportunity to acknowledge Cuba's gestures and respond in a substantive
way. Rather than simply extend policies that, in five decades, have failed
to dislodge the Castros, the Obama administration has a chance to drag US
policy into the 21st century.

The Cuban-American population, which has historically opposed any loosening
of US policy, is no longer monolithic. Supporting greater contact with
friends, family, and the Cuban economy now animates a younger generation of
Florida voters. Because of this trend, Obama - who performed nearly as well
with Cuban-American voters as Romney - has more maneuvering room
politically.

The first step would be to end the silly claim, reinstated by the Obama
administration last summer, that Cuba remains a "state sponsor of
terrorism." The administration argued that Cuba harbored members of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. It has, but the FARC and
Colombia are now in negotiations; those peace talks are supported by the
Obama White House in order to end a bloody civil war.


By depoliticizing the Cuba portfolio, the United States could then begin to
lessen trade restrictions, starting with promoting cultural exchanges;
ending the travel ban; and eventually allowing for trade in oil, gas, and
other commodities. Over time, billions of dollars in new trade between the
two nations will benefit both. This would include boosts to US farm
companies while helping Cubans.

Direct relations would also further US national security and environmental
interests; as Cuba opens up, other countries will sweep in to seek
influence, as China has already done. Especially as Cuba increasingly
promotes offshore drilling and other maritime exploration, the United
States must improve communication with Havana. Currently, even though the
United States and Cuba are separated by a narrow channel, the two countries
have no bilateral communications to ensure safety standards for their
mutual protection from oil spills.

Secretary of State John Kerry should make Cuba a focus of his first months
in office. Unfortunately, his successor as chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee is Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a son of Cuban
immigrants who has opposed the administration's efforts to ease relations.
Menendez will need to be convinced that he can help Cubans more by
resetting American policy.

Absent military intervention, there are very few opportunities for a
president to dramatically alter relations with a historic foe; Obama has
taken such advantage of a disorientingly rapid liberalization by Burma's
military rulers. Raul Castro's recent decision to lift travel restrictions
on Cuban citizens is similarly momentous - and signals that the timing is
ripe for a new diplomatic agenda with Cuba.