Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com.
Close.
Daoud Kuttab
Jerusalem/Amman, Jordan
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University in the United States.
more »
Your categorization of Cuban-Americans as radicals is laughable. Cuban-Americans and many Cubans have witness over the years, how a crazy thug like Castro has destroyed our country.
Yes we are radical; yes the majority of us want the embargo in place. Yes we don’t want thousands of American tourists traveling to Havana and dumping millions of US dollars into the Cuban economy. Yes we vote in block for the president that best defend our interests in Washington.
Yes, as long as the Cuban-American community continues to be economically and politically influential, the US policy towards Cuba will remain the same. As long as we have three members of the House of Representatives, two members of the senate, a Secretary of Commerce, US ambassadors in other nations of Cuban origin and millions of dollars to lobby for our interests, the embargo will remain in place. Until Cuba is free and democratic, that is.
You call us radicals because we want freedom and democracy for our country? Gimme a break.
About Cuba being state 51. That would be ideal. That is what most Cuban-Americans want and what a lot of people in Cuba want. I don’t know if it would happen but it would honestly be a dream made reality. Now, with oil skyrocketing, is time for the US to get rid of Castro and have open access to exploration in the Florida Strait and Eastern Gulf of Mexico where Cuban oil reserves are calculated to be 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
"Cuba Still Hostage To Its Exiles
Cuban exiles in the U.S. will still control Cuba for years to come. "
Barack Obama says:
"Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an antidemocratic successor regime. The prompt release of all prisoners of conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past."
Who is right, Obama or Kuttab? Well, Obama is right, of course. The relationship between America and Cuba is not a hostage of Batista, the relationship between Cuba and America is a hostage of Fidel Castro. Back in the nineteen-nineties Bill Clinton wanted to normalize relations between America and Castro, but then Castro murdered four members of Brothers To The Rescue in international waters, and that humiliated Bill Clinton so badly that he had to keep the embargo. In this century the European Union tried to bring Cuba into the international community, but Castro did what he usually does; he swallowed their gifts and their money and then he arrested seventy-five Cuban dissidents on a single day in 2003. These heroes are 'The Group Of 75', and these are the 'prisoners of conscience' that Obama wants released.
The Europeans were eager to defy America and show that the Europeans had a better way of dealing with Castro, but Castro showed them that the Cuban regime is still Stalinist to its core, and no amount of trade concessions will persuade Castro give his people even a speck of freedom. Since then the European Union has given up on reforming Castro. As Obama says, the 'break with the past' will occur when Castro starts releasing prisoners. Neither America nor the Cuban expatriate community have the ability to make that happen any sooner, so if we have to wait for another twenty years to recognize the Cuban regime, then twenty years is soon enough.
Ultimately, the Cuban American exile community is represented by three members of the House of Representatives who have made it their foundation (to varying degrees) to be as anti-Castro as possible. The Diaz-Balart brothers and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen merely talk a hard game against the Castro regime, yet deliver no change. I was saddened when the three Democrats challenging this troika did not come out against the embargo. The three challengers, the best to come around in years, are going to pander the the far right of the exile community and keep us on the same losing path.
What's worse, when democratic reforms eventually reach Cuba, the embargo supporters will claim victory. They will not admit that the dictator simply died a comfortable death, enjoying the millions of dollars he had at his disposal after years of neglecting his own people and letting them risk their lives to come and be America's problem. The man has outlasted the Soviet Union, and, if he survives another eleven months, ten U.S. presidents. I dare to suggest, as a Cuban American, he would not have lasted anywhere near that long without the US complicitly bearing the blame of Cubans' ills.
I am not cuban-american but a keen observer of this situation. First of all, this embargo does not make sense whatsoever, times have changed. Don't we have business relations with other countries which don't necessarily qualify as democratic? (China, Saudi Arabia anyone?), then why is so different with Cuba?, do you really think the embargo affected or still affects the top brass?.
Secondly, Castro came as a result of another dictator (Fulgencio Batista) who was in good terms with the United States but he was a dictator nevertheless and his government was in no way democratic, or are you Cuban-Americans going to show me otherwise?. Batista's regime turned Cuba in a big casino where Mafiosi and other unsavory characters ruled undisturbed while the U.S. turned a blind eye. So in some ways our country is responsible for Castro, therefore, don't complain about something you helped create.
Hopefully Raul Castro will pave the way for a democratic system in the years to come thanks to international pressure, Cubans deserve a better destiny but at the same time it is my hope that we will keep our hands off the island if we are really sincere in promoting not only democracy but also self-determination.
American-Cuban with their extremely radical anti-Castro policies is really a left over from the dictator Baptistas followers, the middle men between US mafia and the Casino and Brothel industry in Cuba. To the chagrin of American gangsters and profiteering Baptista crowds Fidel Castro did put an end to this inhuman trafficking and the loss of their blood money is something the shadowy world in the American Establishment and their Cuban henchmen could not tolerate.
I'm a cuban-american and a liberal democrat, a contradiction in itself. I would love to see a radical political change in Cuba although it's highly unlikely. The embargo has not worked for forty-eight years and yet the cuban republicans find it necessary. It's ironic that they go back to Cuba to visit their relatives and spend fortunes buying all the necessities for their love ones and yet still insist in the embargo. The only way to deal with the current situation is by establishing a dialogue and opening the doors of good will and common sense. It's so simple and yet so hard to comprehend.
I'm a cuban-american and a liberal democrat, a contradiction in itself. I would love to see a radical political change in Cuba although it's highly unlikely. The embargo has not worked for forty-eight years and yet the cuban republicans find it necessary. It's ironic that they go back to Cuba to visit their relatives and spend fortunes buying all the necessities for their love ones and yet still insist in the embargo. The only way to deal with the current situation is by establishing a dialogue and opening the doors of good will and common sense. It's so simple and yet so hard to comprehend.
{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}
Better a HILLARY than BORACK!!!!!
[][][][][]][][]][]][]]][]][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}} http://USA/US/USA/USA/USA/USA
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
STOP THE WAR STOP THE WAR!!
{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}
Better a CLINTON than OBAMA!!!!!!
[][][][][]][][]][]][]]][]][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
PEACE, PAZ, SALAAM, SHOLOM:........_________________ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton vote APOCALYPTIC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton ACTION/EXPERiENCE:
Once again, US policy is not something that seems rational to one, so lets blame it on the Americans of that ethnicity! This embargo started well before the Cuban-Americans had any significant political power, and even now its limited (see: Elian Gonzalez). Maybe its been more about them being Communist, a staunch ally of the former USSR (and now Venezuela) to the point of allowing nuclear missiles on their land, and simply Fidel himself. Your right, relations should and probably will improve, but adding to conspiracy theories of one group holding the rest of the US hostage certainly does not help.
I have a big problem with your categorization of embargo supporters as radical. I can say the same thing about your ethnic/cultural/religious/political demographic. However, since I am not a subject matter expert about your ethnic/cultural/religious/political demographic and related issues, it would be unwise. Maybe you should stick to your subject of expertise, which is obviously not Cuba.
A headline like this is what keeps the hardliners in Cuba in power. This will be used by the Communists to scare the poor Cuban people that are eagerly waiting for reform. Cuba is noone's 51st State. Stop this garbage.
PostGlobal is an interactive conversation on global issues moderated by Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria and David Ignatius of The Washington Post. It is produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com, as is On Faith, a conversation on religion. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions for PostGlobal to Lauren Keane, its editor and producer.
All Comments (14)
Dear Daoud and all other ignorants,
Your categorization of Cuban-Americans as radicals is laughable. Cuban-Americans and many Cubans have witness over the years, how a crazy thug like Castro has destroyed our country.
Yes we are radical; yes the majority of us want the embargo in place. Yes we don’t want thousands of American tourists traveling to Havana and dumping millions of US dollars into the Cuban economy. Yes we vote in block for the president that best defend our interests in Washington.
Yes, as long as the Cuban-American community continues to be economically and politically influential, the US policy towards Cuba will remain the same. As long as we have three members of the House of Representatives, two members of the senate, a Secretary of Commerce, US ambassadors in other nations of Cuban origin and millions of dollars to lobby for our interests, the embargo will remain in place. Until Cuba is free and democratic, that is.
You call us radicals because we want freedom and democracy for our country? Gimme a break.
About Cuba being state 51. That would be ideal. That is what most Cuban-Americans want and what a lot of people in Cuba want. I don’t know if it would happen but it would honestly be a dream made reality. Now, with oil skyrocketing, is time for the US to get rid of Castro and have open access to exploration in the Florida Strait and Eastern Gulf of Mexico where Cuban oil reserves are calculated to be 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Best,
Cuban born and raised
May 26, 2008 9:29 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 26, 2008 21:29
The question is really stupid !!!
How come would Cuba become a state of the USA ???
Cuba is an independent country (with a brutal dictatorship and a brutal communist regime, but it is an independent country).
Is it that difficult for David and Fareed to understand?
February 20, 2008 3:18 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 15:18
Daoud Kuttab says:
"Cuba Still Hostage To Its Exiles
Cuban exiles in the U.S. will still control Cuba for years to come. "
Barack Obama says:
"Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an antidemocratic successor regime. The prompt release of all prisoners of conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past."
(You can read this quote online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021901270_2.html?sub=AR)
American Observer says:
Who is right, Obama or Kuttab? Well, Obama is right, of course. The relationship between America and Cuba is not a hostage of Batista, the relationship between Cuba and America is a hostage of Fidel Castro. Back in the nineteen-nineties Bill Clinton wanted to normalize relations between America and Castro, but then Castro murdered four members of Brothers To The Rescue in international waters, and that humiliated Bill Clinton so badly that he had to keep the embargo. In this century the European Union tried to bring Cuba into the international community, but Castro did what he usually does; he swallowed their gifts and their money and then he arrested seventy-five Cuban dissidents on a single day in 2003. These heroes are 'The Group Of 75', and these are the 'prisoners of conscience' that Obama wants released.
The Europeans were eager to defy America and show that the Europeans had a better way of dealing with Castro, but Castro showed them that the Cuban regime is still Stalinist to its core, and no amount of trade concessions will persuade Castro give his people even a speck of freedom. Since then the European Union has given up on reforming Castro. As Obama says, the 'break with the past' will occur when Castro starts releasing prisoners. Neither America nor the Cuban expatriate community have the ability to make that happen any sooner, so if we have to wait for another twenty years to recognize the Cuban regime, then twenty years is soon enough.
February 20, 2008 11:43 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 11:43
Ultimately, the Cuban American exile community is represented by three members of the House of Representatives who have made it their foundation (to varying degrees) to be as anti-Castro as possible. The Diaz-Balart brothers and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen merely talk a hard game against the Castro regime, yet deliver no change. I was saddened when the three Democrats challenging this troika did not come out against the embargo. The three challengers, the best to come around in years, are going to pander the the far right of the exile community and keep us on the same losing path.
What's worse, when democratic reforms eventually reach Cuba, the embargo supporters will claim victory. They will not admit that the dictator simply died a comfortable death, enjoying the millions of dollars he had at his disposal after years of neglecting his own people and letting them risk their lives to come and be America's problem. The man has outlasted the Soviet Union, and, if he survives another eleven months, ten U.S. presidents. I dare to suggest, as a Cuban American, he would not have lasted anywhere near that long without the US complicitly bearing the blame of Cubans' ills.
February 20, 2008 9:57 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 09:57
I am not cuban-american but a keen observer of this situation. First of all, this embargo does not make sense whatsoever, times have changed. Don't we have business relations with other countries which don't necessarily qualify as democratic? (China, Saudi Arabia anyone?), then why is so different with Cuba?, do you really think the embargo affected or still affects the top brass?.
Secondly, Castro came as a result of another dictator (Fulgencio Batista) who was in good terms with the United States but he was a dictator nevertheless and his government was in no way democratic, or are you Cuban-Americans going to show me otherwise?. Batista's regime turned Cuba in a big casino where Mafiosi and other unsavory characters ruled undisturbed while the U.S. turned a blind eye. So in some ways our country is responsible for Castro, therefore, don't complain about something you helped create.
Hopefully Raul Castro will pave the way for a democratic system in the years to come thanks to international pressure, Cubans deserve a better destiny but at the same time it is my hope that we will keep our hands off the island if we are really sincere in promoting not only democracy but also self-determination.
February 20, 2008 8:48 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 08:48
thats because the exiles are free and look to extend this freedom to their homeland.
February 20, 2008 5:28 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 05:28
American-Cuban with their extremely radical anti-Castro policies is really a left over from the dictator Baptistas followers, the middle men between US mafia and the Casino and Brothel industry in Cuba. To the chagrin of American gangsters and profiteering Baptista crowds Fidel Castro did put an end to this inhuman trafficking and the loss of their blood money is something the shadowy world in the American Establishment and their Cuban henchmen could not tolerate.
February 20, 2008 4:05 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 04:05
I'm a cuban-american and a liberal democrat, a contradiction in itself. I would love to see a radical political change in Cuba although it's highly unlikely. The embargo has not worked for forty-eight years and yet the cuban republicans find it necessary. It's ironic that they go back to Cuba to visit their relatives and spend fortunes buying all the necessities for their love ones and yet still insist in the embargo. The only way to deal with the current situation is by establishing a dialogue and opening the doors of good will and common sense. It's so simple and yet so hard to comprehend.
February 20, 2008 1:01 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 01:01
I'm a cuban-american and a liberal democrat, a contradiction in itself. I would love to see a radical political change in Cuba although it's highly unlikely. The embargo has not worked for forty-eight years and yet the cuban republicans find it necessary. It's ironic that they go back to Cuba to visit their relatives and spend fortunes buying all the necessities for their love ones and yet still insist in the embargo. The only way to deal with the current situation is by establishing a dialogue and opening the doors of good will and common sense. It's so simple and yet so hard to comprehend.
February 20, 2008 1:01 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 20, 2008 01:01
{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}
Better a HILLARY than BORACK!!!!!
[][][][][]][][]][]][]]][]][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}
http://USA/US/USA/USA/USA/USA
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
STOP THE WAR STOP THE WAR!!
{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}
Better a CLINTON than OBAMA!!!!!!
[][][][][]][][]][]][]]][]][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
PEACE, PAZ, SALAAM, SHOLOM:........_________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton vote APOCALYPTIC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton ACTION/EXPERiENCE:
February 19, 2008 10:31 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 19, 2008 22:31
Once again, US policy is not something that seems rational to one, so lets blame it on the Americans of that ethnicity! This embargo started well before the Cuban-Americans had any significant political power, and even now its limited (see: Elian Gonzalez). Maybe its been more about them being Communist, a staunch ally of the former USSR (and now Venezuela) to the point of allowing nuclear missiles on their land, and simply Fidel himself. Your right, relations should and probably will improve, but adding to conspiracy theories of one group holding the rest of the US hostage certainly does not help.
February 19, 2008 6:49 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 19, 2008 18:49
U.S. Of A. Should Invade CUBA! and incorporate it into the 'Union' A.S.A.P.! All of MEXICO Next!
Eeee Haaaaaa! Si Si Mommee Popee!
February 19, 2008 6:33 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 19, 2008 18:33
Daoud,
I have a big problem with your categorization of embargo supporters as radical. I can say the same thing about your ethnic/cultural/religious/political demographic. However, since I am not a subject matter expert about your ethnic/cultural/religious/political demographic and related issues, it would be unwise. Maybe you should stick to your subject of expertise, which is obviously not Cuba.
February 19, 2008 5:47 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 19, 2008 17:47
A headline like this is what keeps the hardliners in Cuba in power. This will be used by the Communists to scare the poor Cuban people that are eagerly waiting for reform. Cuba is noone's 51st State. Stop this garbage.
February 19, 2008 5:20 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on February 19, 2008 17:20