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Rich people are never wrong
U.S. agricultural interests would love to trade with Cuba. The U.S. government says: "No!" Farmers ask: "Why not?" So continues a standoff that has lasted longer than most Americans have been alive. For years, it had one simple solution: "Fidel Castro has to die." Now, even when he does, Cuba may be so tied to politics that this little island nation may have to totally capitulate before we will be able to establish diplomatic and economic relations. It seems strange to hold a small country hostage over the actions of a communist regime but Cuba was a pawn in one of the most deadly actions of the cold war and we aren't about to forgive and forget. For the past 20 years, some segment of U.S. agriculture has been pushing for more trade with Cuba and its 11 million people. Producers of wheat, rice, poultry, dairy products and other foodstuffs see it as an easy market to serve since shipping time is so short that all but the most perishable items could be delivered. Agricultural state legislators and commodity group leaders from over half our states, including Kansas, Arkansas and Iowa, make trips to Cuba to call attention to the importance of this Caribbean marketplace that our State Department calls an enemy of the same magnitude as North Korea. Concessions from our government have only been given in "food and medicine" and those have to be paid for in advance. It started with the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, in 1958, by rebel forces loyal to Fidel Castro and the alliance Castro established with the Soviet Union. The United States never had honorable intentions with Cuba as Batista had overthrown the previous regime in 1952. Unlike Castro, he was submissive to the United States government and allowed American gangsters to hide out and do business there. It was also a great party place for Americans to do what they could not on the mainland. Castro, with his belief in the Marxist doctrine, turned Cuba upside down and took property away from the wealthy. He made communists out of the peasants and set up a state run economy. Many, who opposed him, fled to Florida and set up a movement to retake their country and reclaim their land. Now, 50 years later, the battle still rages as this passage from the website www.castro.no.com states: The "Blame America first crowd" is trying to convince Congress and Americans that the U.S. embargo is responsible for the suffering of the people of Cuba. The fact is that coffee, sugar, salt, etc. are unrelated to the embargo; yet, these and other nationally produced items are rationed by the government as a way to control the people of Cuba. The lifting of the embargo will only provide Castro with additional resources to continue his anti-America revolution. Trading with a communist nation is not outside the principles of the United States, as we had our greatest expansion when the Soviets began buying American grain in the 1970s. We've never shown an aversion to commerce with a corrupt dictator, as can be seen in our dealings with illegitimate and oppressive governments worldwide. The problem with Cuba, that separated it from all others, came in August of 1962 when the Soviet Union brought in nuclear weapons and attempted to make them operational on an island just 90 miles from the U.S. coast. I was in grade school at the time and remember the conversations of my parents taking on a tone of fear, as the Kennedy administration was trying to verify what cargo ships from the U.S.S.R. were carrying on their decks. The government began promoting construction and stocking of fallout shelters. And we would have special assembly meetings in school, where we were shown how to "duck and cover" in case of a nuclear attack. It was a very scary time, perhaps the only time when nuclear war between the two superpowers could have been triggered--and all because of a shark shaped island sitting off our southern coast. President Eisenhower, who was in office when Castro took over, referred to him in demeaning terms and said he wasn't long for leadership of Cuba. In a statement attributed to my favorite semi-retired, but sarcastic as ever, Kansas State University agricultural economist, Barry Flinchbaugh: "Castro is still there and the general has gone home to Abilene." Few places have done so little that had so much impact on this country. In 2000, Al Gore lost the election for President of the United States because of the Clinton administration's handling of the case of Elian Gonzalez, a young Cuban boy who was brought to the United States by his fleeing mother who drowned on Thanksgiving Day of 1999. President Clinton and Attorney General, Janet Reno, repatriated Elian to his biological father in Cuba and that was enough to swing the Florida Cuban vote to George W. Bush. Remember, this commentary is about trade. It is not about a communist dictator who won't die. It is not about Cuban-Americans who want their land and privileges back. It's not about the, now defunct, Soviet Union and a confrontation that might have ended the world 45 years ago. It is about our pride and stubborn determination to grind Castro's regime into the consistency of his cigar ashes. We are the ones who have oppressed Cuba and compounded the plight of its people who live in isolation just a few miles from prosperity. All of this, while eager U.S. farmers, who have high quality food for sale, continue to ask: "Why?" Editor's note: Ken Root is now celebrating his 34th year as an agricultural professional. His career began as a vocational agriculture teacher then turned to agricultural broadcasting and writing as well as environmental consulting and association management. He was the original host of AgriTalk (1994-2001) and now is lead farm broadcaster for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. Date: 10/18/07
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