With today's raising of the US Flag at our Embassy in Cuba, I was wondering what is everyone's opinion on normalizing relations with Cuba?

2015-08-14T03:22:09-04:00

IMO it is a good thing. What do y'all think?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/politics/marines-us-embassy-havana-cuba/index.html

Marines who removed U.S. flag in Havana see it raised - CNNPolitics.com

On a beautiful January day in 1961, three Marines walked out of the American Embassy building in Havana and lowered the flag that had been flying proudly outside.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Aug 14 at 2015 3:31 AM

2015-08-14T03:31:46-04:00

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 3:34 AM

2015-08-14T03:34:59-04:00

This is one thing the the Obama administration as done correct. I believe it is about time we get back into Cuba. We can have a much greater impact with our presence as apposed to our absence. It doesn't makes sense to continue to do something that is not working. So lets try getting back in. If this route doesn't work we can always unfreind them on facebook. I'm for a US presence in Cuba. Heck maybe we can start getting Cuban cigars again.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 3:58 AM

2015-08-14T03:58:57-04:00

I think it's a great thing. Working together instead of working separately is always a good thing, and I think we can learn a lot from each other.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Aug 14 at 2015 4:12 AM

2015-08-14T04:12:49-04:00

Long Past Due but I understand waiting until Fidel had Stepped Down for his Brother.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 14 at 2015 4:36 AM

2015-08-14T04:36:11-04:00

I believe in Free Trade so I am all for this.

Response by MSgt Brian Welch made Aug 14 at 2015 5:31 AM

2015-08-14T05:31:37-04:00

The cold war ended in the 80's... it's about time.

Response by CMSgt Mark Schubert made Aug 14 at 2015 7:13 AM

2015-08-14T07:13:39-04:00

Things change, times change, people change, leaders change - I think it's a good thing - but I also hope they "mind their P's & Q's as my mamma used to say" or we might take it back down... :-)

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Aug 14 at 2015 8:37 AM

2015-08-14T08:37:57-04:00

About fricken time!

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Aug 14 at 2015 8:47 AM

2015-08-14T08:47:43-04:00

Bye-bye to those expensive Cuban cigars. Why not have diplomatic relations with a country we have a base in, 90 miles off our coast where the government is now US friendly. Havana will once again be a prime resort vacation destination if Michael Corleone has anything to say about it! :-)

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Aug 14 at 2015 8:52 AM

2015-08-14T08:52:00-04:00

SGM Steve Wettstein I think it is a great move. I just hope that the families who have escaped to the United States during this period will be allowed to visit their families without any retribution on the part of Cuba. This would show that relations have gone back to normal.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Aug 14 at 2015 9:11 AM

2015-08-14T09:11:04-04:00

A whole new market for our businesses...

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Aug 14 at 2015 9:44 AM

2015-08-14T09:44:18-04:00

I think it was time......

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Aug 14 at 2015 10:24 AM

2015-08-14T10:24:17-04:00

I support this move. After all, sanctions haven't worked after all of these years. Might as well try a different approach, now that Fidel has stepped down.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Aug 14 at 2015 10:33 AM

2015-08-14T10:33:35-04:00

Good move trade will benefit, there will be travel opportunities, you can't keep enemies forever, all in all a great move.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Aug 14 at 2015 10:45 AM

2015-08-14T10:45:17-04:00

Pump it!

Response by MSgt Jim Wolverton made Aug 14 at 2015 10:47 AM

2015-08-14T10:47:08-04:00

I think it's a good thing, both for us and for them. All of the people of Cuban descent that will hopefully be able to see family again is a good thing, but only if they don't face retribution from the Cuban government. Business and travel opportunities are a good thing too.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Aug 14 at 2015 10:50 AM

2015-08-14T10:50:38-04:00

SGM Steve Wettstein I think it is going to be good for us in Florida from an economy standpoint. I think that our relations with Cuba were more a matter of Ego than they were anything else. The debacle that was bay of pigs was an embarrassment to the United States. The Cuban Missle Crisis, was an embarrassment on a global scale, simply because it showed just how close the US and USSR were to putting diplomacy aside and nuking the planet (that is my opinion, not any fact). So the US had to allow our ego to heal. Now it is time to let the past be the past and welcome trade with Cuba.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Aug 14 at 2015 10:56 AM

2015-08-14T10:56:19-04:00

Perhaps if you knew anything about right wing terror groups you'd realize that some of these militias groups DID actively recruit returning veterans. Also at the time that this report was released a report on left wing terror groups was released. I have copies of both. It wasn't one sided as you would have us bbc.co believe.

Also LTC Di Muccio the Washington Times isn't fit to line a bird cage.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 11:38 AM

2015-08-14T11:38:30-04:00

I think it will be huge to have a friendly Cuba inside our sphere of influence. In the age of small terror groups operating independently we need more friends near our borders than ever. Plus cheaper Cuban cigars is always a bonus.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 14 at 2015 11:44 AM

2015-08-14T11:44:25-04:00

I see the natural progression as the gates of travel are opened. American companies will develop and invest in Cuba, and trading will be promoted. Right now the Cuban markets are restrictive and lacking in essential products. My father use to go into Cuba and knew a female professor with a beater of a car which was luxury. She would drive them around, and the car would break down and she fixed it like a good mechanic. Dad would bring in stuff like hand lotions, shampoo, and conditioner because the market was so inefficient and ineffective. American tourism in my mind will bust the Cuban economy wide open.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Aug 14 at 2015 12:19 PM

2015-08-14T12:19:30-04:00

SGM Steve Wettstein unfortunately this has been a unilateral attempt at limited reestablishment of relations with Cuba.
Anybody who believes that "free" trade will exist with Cuba is smoking something stronger than Cuban cigars:-) Expect significant import duties because Cuba is still primarily a communist run agrarian economy with a black market and limited internal industrial and re-fabrication capability. Much of there machinery and automobiles are from the 1950's. Cuba may have to do something drastic with its currency to be able to "afford" purchasing infrastructure improvement.
No extradition treaty has been signed and their are at least 70 fugitives from US justice living in Cuba at state expense including cop killer Joanne Chesimard [I understand that negotiations have been started in her extradition which would be a good thing.]
The rights of Cuban emigre's to this nation who are property owners in Cuba have not been advanced by this administration. There are many other aspects of this treaty which need to be modified - in addition to individual property owners, the nationalization of business and foreign-owned agriculture which was owned by US citizens and corporations through the 1950's affected a number of small investors as well as larger ones. Steps should be taken to redress their issues.
My wife escaped from Cuba at age 14 by not looking back at her parents. She was told she would be forbidden from leaving if she glanced back. Her dad had just been released from a concentration/reeducation camp. He had been incarcerated because he could not account for one of the cows that had been his prior to the revolution [everything belonged to the state of Cuba].
Phone calls are still monitored - my wife's family has many members still living there.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs, LTC Stephen C., LTC John Shaw, CW5 Charlie Poulton, GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad, SFC Private RallyPoint Member, SFC James Sczymanski, SGT Robert Hawks, SGT Randal Groover, SGT Forrest Stewart

Response by SFC Maury Gonzalez made Aug 14 at 2015 12:27 PM

2015-08-14T12:27:01-04:00

All the Cubans wil make $$$$ ,once they allow sale and import to the USA all those old cars

Response by SPC James Butler made Aug 14 at 2015 1:02 PM

2015-08-14T13:02:08-04:00

I think it would be hypocritical if we do not normalize relations with Cuba. We trade and send jobs to Communist China, a country that does not back down on the constant barrage of attacks on our cyber infrastructure to gain access to U.S. DoD information. The public may not perceive this as a n act of war, but what if China physically attacked facilities that have TS SCI data? How is it that we allow commerce and trade with a country that blatantly attacks the U.S.?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 1:31 PM

2015-08-14T13:31:50-04:00

It is a great deal for the Cuban people. There will be lots of tourists visiting and buying their wares. They have a long way to go in getting their country ready for tourists. But at least now, they will have access to modern tools. I saw last night Carnival is already working on trips to Cuba. That's the plus side of things. In the negative side, I'm concerned about the increase, if there is any, in more drugs coming into our country. Florida and much of the East coast might have the problems we have in Texas, Arizona, and California, with drugs and human trafficking. IMHO

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Aug 14 at 2015 2:06 PM

2015-08-14T14:06:16-04:00

I think the Cuban citizens will finally be able to be free and not lived out their lives scared to death and always looking over their shoulder. US and others will start building business's over there....their economy will finally begin to grow and the Cuban people will finally be able to have things they have never been allowed or could afford to have before.

I only hope that the brother is a much better person that Fidel.....and that once the Castro's are gone, maybe they'll implement democracy and they'll vote in their next leader and they lives/economy and overall situation will become better and better.

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Aug 14 at 2015 2:10 PM

2015-08-14T14:10:43-04:00

As long as Cuba maintains its Communist stance, "normal " anything is not likely.

Response by SPC David S. made Aug 14 at 2015 3:04 PM

2015-08-14T15:04:41-04:00

There were many Americans who had their businesses and land taken when Castro nationalized Cuba. No provision was made by the Cuban Government for the payment of compensation for such properties as required under the generally accepted rules of international law. Cuba, however, has paid similar claims by Canada, France, Spain and Switzerland. At the October 2014 session of the U.N. General Assembly, Cuba offered a resolution condemning the U.S. embargo, which overwhelmingly was approved. Speaking for the resolution, Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Gonzalez Parrilla, alleged that Cuba was damaged by the embargo and that the damages totaled $1.1 trillion. Cuba is still hanging on to this claim.

I do however plan on going to Cuba this December. I hope they don't follow Rallypoint as I might find myself running through old Cuban mind fields running towards Guantanamo - "I'm an American"

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Aug 14 at 2015 4:56 PM

2015-08-14T16:56:46-04:00

I researched the history of Cuba from preColumbian times through the modern era as I prepared to write my novel Rebels on the Mountain - a story of Castro's revolution. You can find much of my research on my weblog at http://www.jackdurish.com/4/category/cuba/1.html It's best to read it in reverse order if you're interested.

Fundamentally, in normalizing relations with Cuba without concessions by the Cuban government, we have abandoned the political prisoners, the murdered Cuban citizens, and the claims of Cuban refugees for the property stolen from them. For what? Some political points? What a crock.

There was absolutely no need to normalize relationships this quickly, without negotiation, without some modicum of acceptance by the Cuban government for their guilt, their human rights violations.

Do Cubans have a cause to complaint about America and its hand in their past? Of course they do. But abandoning them without hope will not expiate our guilt...

Category: Cuba

Father forgive me for I have sinned. How long has it been since your last confession. A pause. A shrug.

Response by SSG James Arlington made Aug 14 at 2015 11:07 PM

2015-08-14T23:07:21-04:00

Are you kidding? American businesses are itching to do business there agian. Oh wait, we do business with China, with Myanmar etc. Etc. Etc. Does nothing but help Americans sell their goods.

Response by SPC Tony Tarone made Aug 15 at 2015 2:13 AM

2015-08-15T02:13:09-04:00

The best way to convert a communist to a capitalist is to introduce opportunity in the form of American dollars from tourists and investors. Normalize relations and open trade. In 5 years it'll be Fidel Who?

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Aug 15 at 2015 2:16 AM

2015-08-15T02:16:52-04:00

I am planning on visiting Cuba within a year.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Aug 15 at 2015 2:21 AM

2015-08-15T02:21:11-04:00

I like the fact that we can now visit Cuba with out the legal hassels. Think of the business that can ferry people to Cuba, I planning to visit in a year.

Response by Sgt Mitchell Sporar made Aug 15 at 2015 11:54 AM

2015-08-15T11:54:47-04:00

I find it disgusting SGM Steve Wettstein.

I think there are two reasons the Obama administration has unilaterally spearheaded this move ..
1. The Castro's influence over the PSOE political party in Spain (and that influence on the EU / Cuban relations should the PSOE party regain power in Spain)
2. The Castro's influence (well, control) over the oil rich nation of Venezuela.

And .. in it's own political self-interests in this new found relationship, the Obama Administration has spit on ..
- all exiles from Cuba currently residing here in the US
- all those still living in the communist state whonhave been victims of the Castro's rule: through losing their possessions, freedom, and in some cases their very lives
- all of those who for years worked locally and internationally to help those that Cuba has victimized

Another shining example of a US Administration selling out this nation's principles in a self-glorifying effort.

.. like i said .. disgusting.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Aug 15 at 2015 2:46 PM

2015-08-15T14:46:19-04:00

I have a tendency to distrust anything our current State Department floats upon us. This could be a mildly good thing done by an otherwise horrible diplomatic corps.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Aug 15 at 2015 2:54 PM

2015-08-15T14:54:07-04:00

You were three ranks higher than s civilian, rock on.

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Aug 16 at 2015 5:04 PM

2015-08-16T17:04:45-04:00

I think if you spend time in Cuba you cannot help but to be taken in how the Cuban people really like and respect Americans I was in Havana before Castro & really enjoyed touring the city.

Response by SGT William Howell made Aug 17 at 2015 7:39 AM

2015-08-17T07:39:11-04:00

I'll be honest. I could not give a crap one way or another.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Aug 17 at 2015 10:54 AM

2015-08-17T10:54:24-04:00

My only question is how long before we can openly travel to Cuba and then how long before we destroy everything that makes it special now?

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Aug 17 at 2015 7:25 PM

2015-08-17T19:25:17-04:00

It's long past due. Cuba has not been a threat to the US since the end of the Cold War, and probably before that. The Cuban people have suffered extensively because of our embargo, and what did the embargo really accomplish?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 17 at 2015 8:47 PM

2015-08-17T20:47:36-04:00

It's good. It is long past time to end the pointless embargo. If we can trade and "engage" with China, we can do the same with Cuba. And besides, cigars and rum. Mmmmm.

Response by CPT Russell Pitre made Aug 18 at 2015 2:28 AM

2015-08-18T02:28:34-04:00

I can't wait to go visit. I am sure it is nice down there.