Monday, January 12, 2015

End the Sanctions?

READING in the Monde diplomatique again after a hiatus, I was pleased to find that this magazine's relative mildness since the Ignacio Ramonet era is temporarily banished.

In the last lines of a praise-filled and still tough article on the United States's lifting of the Cuba embargo, for instance —

After quoting the insight that President Obama stated last year — "Moreover, it does not serve America's interests, or the Cuban people, to try to push Cuba toward collapse. Even if that worked -– and it hasn't for 50 years –- we know from hard-earned experience that countries are more likely to enjoy lasting transformation if their people are not subjected to chaos."*—

The White House: "Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes" (December 17, 2014)

Mr. Halimi writes,
Il ne reste plus à Washington, Berlin, Londres et Paris qu'à appliquer cette leçon à la Russie. Sans attendre cinquante ans?

(My rough translation: "The only thing left is for Washington, Berlin, London, and Paris to apply this lesson to Russia. Perhaps without waiting fifty years to do it?")