Liberal Position in the U.S. Senate Why

Liberal Position in the U.S. Senate

Why Lift U.S. Embargo on Cuba

It is time for the United States to lift the embargo imposed on the island fifty years ago. The embargo is a bad policy that helps neither the United States nor Cuba, and does not achieve its goals of ousting Cuba's Communist dictators. If anything, the embargo prolongs the rule of the Castro regime since better relations between the United States and Cuba as well as flooding the country with consumer goods would do more to weaken the Castro regime than anything ever done by the U.S. government against the regime.

"The embargo has been a failure by every measure," as CATO Institute's Daniel Griswold argues. "It has not changed the course or nature of the Cuban government. It has not liberated a single Cuban citizen. In fact, the embargo has made the Cuban people a bit more impoverished, without making them one bit more free [sic]. At the same time, it has deprived Americans of their freedom to travel and has cost U.S. farmers and other producers billions of dollars of potential exports" (Griswold). It has also been rightly asked: "If the embargo has not worked after 50 years, how can anyone plausibly argue that it will work now? Who wants the embargo? (McElvaine). It is clear that the supporters of the embargo are largely Cuban Americans of the Miami area on whose votes Republicans count because Florida is the largest swing state.

But the U.S. policy on Cuba should not be based on the interests of the minority. Long-standing U.S. traditions of trade liberalism, democracy, respect for international laws, propagation of the values of free market, and the opinions of the majority of the U.S. citizens should guide the policy. Lifting the embargo would boost tourist industry in both countries and the agricultural sector has much to gain from opening the market to Cuba. For example, some estimates suggest that the current dairy sales to Cuba worth approximately $13 million per year may be tripled or multiplied by five times (Lloyd). The embargo has been hurting the economies of both countries, while allowing the Castro regime to blame the country's inefficiency on the embargo. The embargo has also shut Cuba from access to information technology such as broadband Internet, a well-functioning cell phone system, easy access to social media (Facebook, Twitter) -- essential components of modern democratic revolutions as we have seen in Tunis, Egypt, and elsewhere. Ultimately, the embargo is unpopular because 67% of Americans, according to one credible poll, favor lifting the travel ban to Cuba (Lloyd). It is time to get away with this out-dated, dysfunctional, and economically harmful policy.

Why Encourage More Peace Talks between Israel and Palestinians

It is clear that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the vital issues for stability in the region and long-term goals of the United States in the Middle East. History has shown that the only solution or at least a temporary mitigation of the conflict is dialogue. Contrary to the opinions of skeptics, history tells us that peace talks work, although they may sometimes fail or achieve the set goals on a limited scale. Nevertheless, the pace talks between Egypt and Israel, and between Jordan and Israel, have worked for several decades. Before the U.S. decided to mediate peace talks between them, Egypt and Jordan had been at war with Israel several times.

There is no reason to think that U.S. cannot strike a similar deal between Israel and Arabs in the Palestinian territories. Despite the criticisms directed at them, the Oslo peace accords helped establish a Palestinian state with whom Israel could negotiate, and the initiatives by President Clinton in 1999-2001 encouraged other Arab states and the international community to do more to encourage both parties to return to peace negotiations.

As Zbigniew Brzezinski has argued, if the U.S. In the past dealt only with Arab governments, today America has to deal with the Arab public. The United States therefore cannot continue its policy of supporting peace talks rhetorically but continue its unequivocal support of Israel in action (a policy pursued by the Bush Administration). The United States should be ready to support Palestinians as well, pressuring Israel to embrace negotiations because the current impasse is bad for Israel as well as the United States ("Brzezinski Says Peace Impasse Menaces Israel, U.S.").

Why More Support for War Veterans Needed

The number of servicemembers transitioning to the veteran status has dramatically increased in the last decade due to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these veterans suffer from physical and mental wounds, while others suffer from permanent disabilities. According to a non-profit organization Disabled American Veterans, 347,000 thousand discharged veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (out of 945,000 in total; that is, 42%) have sought support at VA health care facilities ("VA Needs Sufficient, Timely, and Predictable Funding"). The high number of veterans seeking support require more funding.

In addition to these obvious issues, there is also a frightening suicide epidemic sweeping American war veterans. According one recent study, 950 veterans, receiving some type of support from the Veterans Affairs Department, attempt suicide every month. Out of these, seven percent are successful, while eleven percent of those who do not succeed repeat the attempts within the next nine months. The key area of concern for suicide prevention providers in the department is the disproportionally high number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans willing to commit suicide (Maze).