Obama's detente with Cuba: foreign policy coup or desperate tactic of an administration woefully inept at foreign policy?

The administration's strong suit is not with other countries, to say the least. We've witnessed a significant lapse in diplomacy these last several years, itself complicated by our complex relationship with the nations of the Middle East, the Near East and lately Asia Minor.

Does renewed relations with Cuba require ratification by the Senate? If so, will Obama get it? What does that say for the future of our forces at Gitmo? Is Cuba ready to come into the fold of 21st century nations, or is the hate, vitriol and propaganda of an extremely repressive communist regime too much to just turn away from?