Substantial change...

Barack Obama has decided to reconsider America's embargo on Cuba, a relic of the Cold War which only intensified under the Bush administration. Amending or ending the embargo, altogether, has always been a topic of debate, but the case for such a course of action seems particularly strong now for the following reasons:

• The embargo doesn't hurt the Cuban bureaucrats; it hurts the Cuban populace. This is a country in which the average monthly income runs between $10 and $15. Does an embargo that lowers the standard of living even further really make sense if the American government's goal is to popularize capitalism and representative democracy?
• Cuba is a dictatorship - there's no doubt about that. Reporters without borders has called the country "the second biggest prison in the world for journalists." Coincidentally, the NGO awarded the the first place title to China. Foreign policy double standard, anyone? Can the American government single out Cuba for embargo while cooperating and trading freely with repressive regimes like China, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan and still claim the moral high ground?
• A warming of relations might make for some cheap Cuban cigars. Who doesn't want that?

Just a thought.