Kerry Begs For Purple Heart With Cuba "C"
2015-08-14 19:51:12 UTC
Havana, Cuba Secretary of State John Kerry marked the
historic re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Friday
after a half-century-long freeze, amid lingering tensions
between the two countries and deep concern among anti-Castro
lawmakers in Washington.
"There will be hiccups along the way, but it's a start," Kerry
acknowledged, speaking briefly to reporters before a ceremony
where the U.S. flag was hoisted above the embassy for the first
time in 54 years.
Kerry's Cuba visit was the first by a U.S. secretary of state
since 1945. In an address outside the embassy, fragments of
which were delivered in Spanish, Kerry called for "pushing aside
old barriers and exploring new possibilities."
"Having normal relations makes it easier to talk -- and talk can
deepen understanding even when we know full well we will not see
eye-to-eye on everything," Kerry said.
Cuban-American lawmakers in Washington fumed over Friday's
ceremony. As Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., blasted the
administration's deals with Iran and Cuba in a New York speech,
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., issued a scathing statement citing
the continuing human rights problems on the island.
"This is a one-sided deal that is a win for the Cuban regime and
a loss for the Cuban people," Menendez said. "The U.S. Embassy
in Havana will be a hollow one. ... It will be diplomacy for
show, not in practice. The United States' flag should only fly
in Cuba when the island is free, when dissent is embraced, and
when democracy is restored."
In a reminder of the rocky road ahead, Fidel Castro said in a
newspaper column on the eve of the ceremony that the U.S. owes
the island "numerous millions of dollars" for damages caused by
the embargo. Americans, too, also want to resolve billions of
dollars in half-century-old claims over property confiscated
after the Cuban revolution.
In his speech in New York City on Friday, Rubio slammed the
Obama administration's outreach to Iran and Cuba. Deals with
both countries, the Republican presidential candidate said,
"represent the convergence of nearly every flawed strategic,
moral, and economic notion that has driven President Obama's
foreign policy."
But in Havana, Kerry vowed that "citizens of both [countries]
will benefit" from normalized relations.
He said Cubans and Americans are "no longer enemies or rivals,
but neighbors," while also saying the Cuban people "would be
best served by a genuine democracy."
This is just the start of the process.
Soon after Kerry heads home Friday evening, the Cuban and U.S.
diplomats who negotiated the embassy reopening will launch full-
time into the next phase of detente: expanding economic ties
between the two nations with measures like direct flights and
mail service.
Presidents Obama and Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17 that they
would re-establish diplomatic ties 54 years after the flag was
taken down from the embassy overlooking Havana's seaside
boulevard, the Malecon.
Obama also said he would be moving to empower the Cuban people
by loosening the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba through a series of
executive actions that make it easier for American citizens to
travel to Cuba and trade with the island's growing class of
private business owners.
Eight months later, Cuba has repeatedly demanded a complete
lifting of the embargo. It has not responded to Obama's actions
with measures that would allow ordinary Cubans to benefit from
them, such as allowing low-cost imports and exports by Cuban
entrepreneurs looking to do business with the U.S.
"I think we're ending one phase and entering another," said
Robert Muse, a U.S. lawyer specializing in Cuba. "The
handshakes, the fraternal regards, the raising of the flags,
that'll end on Aug. 14. Then I think it's very particular
conversations begin."
While Cuba has increased its highly limited Internet access
since Dec. 17 in a measure U.S. officials partially attribute to
the warming with Washington, ordinary Cubans are growing
increasingly impatient for concrete results from the new
relationship.
The U.S. tried several times to hold discussions with Cuban
officials about the details of Obama's loosening of U.S.
regulations but those meetings never happened amid the pressure
to strike a deal allowing the reopening of embassies in Havana
and Washington on July 20.
U.S. diplomats say that such a meeting, which will hopefully
lead to a real increase in trade with the U.S., is among the top
priorities of the normalization talks expected to start in
earnest in coming weeks.
After the flag ceremony and a meeting with Havana Archbishop
Jaime Ortega, Kerry was scheduled to meet with Cuban Foreign
Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla followed by a news conference
and the raising of a second flag at the stately home of the
embassy's chief of mission, where the secretary of state is also
expected to meet with Cuban dissidents.
Kerry said in a series of interviews with Spanish-language press
Wednesday that the day would move the U.S.-Cuban relationship
into a series of detailed talks about topics including "law
enforcement, maritime security, education, health,
telecommunications."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/14/chinese-firefighter-
pulled-from-rubble-port-explosions-after-being-trapped-for/
historic re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Friday
after a half-century-long freeze, amid lingering tensions
between the two countries and deep concern among anti-Castro
lawmakers in Washington.
"There will be hiccups along the way, but it's a start," Kerry
acknowledged, speaking briefly to reporters before a ceremony
where the U.S. flag was hoisted above the embassy for the first
time in 54 years.
Kerry's Cuba visit was the first by a U.S. secretary of state
since 1945. In an address outside the embassy, fragments of
which were delivered in Spanish, Kerry called for "pushing aside
old barriers and exploring new possibilities."
"Having normal relations makes it easier to talk -- and talk can
deepen understanding even when we know full well we will not see
eye-to-eye on everything," Kerry said.
Cuban-American lawmakers in Washington fumed over Friday's
ceremony. As Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., blasted the
administration's deals with Iran and Cuba in a New York speech,
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., issued a scathing statement citing
the continuing human rights problems on the island.
"This is a one-sided deal that is a win for the Cuban regime and
a loss for the Cuban people," Menendez said. "The U.S. Embassy
in Havana will be a hollow one. ... It will be diplomacy for
show, not in practice. The United States' flag should only fly
in Cuba when the island is free, when dissent is embraced, and
when democracy is restored."
In a reminder of the rocky road ahead, Fidel Castro said in a
newspaper column on the eve of the ceremony that the U.S. owes
the island "numerous millions of dollars" for damages caused by
the embargo. Americans, too, also want to resolve billions of
dollars in half-century-old claims over property confiscated
after the Cuban revolution.
In his speech in New York City on Friday, Rubio slammed the
Obama administration's outreach to Iran and Cuba. Deals with
both countries, the Republican presidential candidate said,
"represent the convergence of nearly every flawed strategic,
moral, and economic notion that has driven President Obama's
foreign policy."
But in Havana, Kerry vowed that "citizens of both [countries]
will benefit" from normalized relations.
He said Cubans and Americans are "no longer enemies or rivals,
but neighbors," while also saying the Cuban people "would be
best served by a genuine democracy."
This is just the start of the process.
Soon after Kerry heads home Friday evening, the Cuban and U.S.
diplomats who negotiated the embassy reopening will launch full-
time into the next phase of detente: expanding economic ties
between the two nations with measures like direct flights and
mail service.
Presidents Obama and Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17 that they
would re-establish diplomatic ties 54 years after the flag was
taken down from the embassy overlooking Havana's seaside
boulevard, the Malecon.
Obama also said he would be moving to empower the Cuban people
by loosening the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba through a series of
executive actions that make it easier for American citizens to
travel to Cuba and trade with the island's growing class of
private business owners.
Eight months later, Cuba has repeatedly demanded a complete
lifting of the embargo. It has not responded to Obama's actions
with measures that would allow ordinary Cubans to benefit from
them, such as allowing low-cost imports and exports by Cuban
entrepreneurs looking to do business with the U.S.
"I think we're ending one phase and entering another," said
Robert Muse, a U.S. lawyer specializing in Cuba. "The
handshakes, the fraternal regards, the raising of the flags,
that'll end on Aug. 14. Then I think it's very particular
conversations begin."
While Cuba has increased its highly limited Internet access
since Dec. 17 in a measure U.S. officials partially attribute to
the warming with Washington, ordinary Cubans are growing
increasingly impatient for concrete results from the new
relationship.
The U.S. tried several times to hold discussions with Cuban
officials about the details of Obama's loosening of U.S.
regulations but those meetings never happened amid the pressure
to strike a deal allowing the reopening of embassies in Havana
and Washington on July 20.
U.S. diplomats say that such a meeting, which will hopefully
lead to a real increase in trade with the U.S., is among the top
priorities of the normalization talks expected to start in
earnest in coming weeks.
After the flag ceremony and a meeting with Havana Archbishop
Jaime Ortega, Kerry was scheduled to meet with Cuban Foreign
Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla followed by a news conference
and the raising of a second flag at the stately home of the
embassy's chief of mission, where the secretary of state is also
expected to meet with Cuban dissidents.
Kerry said in a series of interviews with Spanish-language press
Wednesday that the day would move the U.S.-Cuban relationship
into a series of detailed talks about topics including "law
enforcement, maritime security, education, health,
telecommunications."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/14/chinese-firefighter-
pulled-from-rubble-port-explosions-after-being-trapped-for/