[Peace-discuss] Obama admin. motive in opening to Cuba

[C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss]

After two generations of US terrorism against Cuba (mostly under Democratic presidents), Obama's sudden opening and prisoner swap require explanation.  

Given his vicious campaign against Russia (and "pivot to Asia," directed against China), we might say that his primary concern is what's described by one of his intellectual bodyguards, Zbigniew Brzezinski. See his "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives" (1997):

"Regarding the landmass of Eurasia as the center of global power, Brzezinski sets out to formulate a Eurasian geostrategy for the United States. In particular, he writes, it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger should emerge capable of dominating Eurasia and thus also of challenging America's global pre-eminence."  

That "global pre-eminence" and "Eurasian geostrategy" are necessary of course for the profits of the 1%, not for the well-being of most people, in the US and abroad.  They of course suffer so that the profits of the few may increase. And Obama works for the latter. 

To (re-)establish economic control over Eurasia requires preventing the BRICs from uniting against the US. (BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.) Brazil stands for a united Latin America, a real political and economic threat to the US. Will rapprochement with Cuba herald greater influence with LA? They may be thinking that way in Foggy Bottom.  

These days, the homey folks at the State Department and Congress may be recalling the proverb, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." They've killed a lot of people with vinegar, but diminishing returns may mean it's time for another ointment.

--CGE


Begin forwarded message:
> 
> This attempt to explain it in terms of US imperial policy seems a bit thin (e.g., couldn't a ship in the Caribbean be as good a listening post as the installation at Lourdes?):
> 
> <http://joshuatartakovsky.com/whats-next-for-cuba-following-the-warm-up-with-the-us/>.
> 
> Cuba can't be a military threat to the US, but it has been an ideological threat for two generations. 
> 
> This may be a more important motive, given the US insistence on the control of (not just access to) world oil flows:
> 
> <http://viableopposition.blogspot.ca/2014/12/cubas-oil-potential-is-it-motivating.html>.
> 
> Perhaps the best explanation is the rise in world influence of an increasingly united Latin America (including Venezuela and Cuba). US attempts to re-assert control (including manipulation of oil prices) don't seem to be working. Washington may think that a new sort of engagement - not just military oppression - will be necessary to  re-take control of "our little region over here that has never bothered anybody," as Secretary of War Henry Stimson described the hemisphere in May 1945.  (He was at that time explaining to the world what the post-war global system would be, and one of its conditions would be that all regional organizations must be disbanded, with the exception of our own, which are to be expanded.)
> 
> A conqueror's version of, 'If you can't beat them, join them.'  --CGE
> 
> 
> On Dec 18, 2014, at 4:55 PM, David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>> Cuba is not currently a threat but it could be ( think Cuban missile crisis ).
>> It DEFINITELY IS NOT Obama’s conscience !
>> 
>> David J.
>> 
>> 
>> From: C. G. Estabrook [mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com] 
>> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 12:46 PM
>> To: David Johnson
>> Cc: Peace Discuss; occupycu-request at lists.chambana.net; sf-core
>> Subject: Re: [sf-core] US Risks Economic Crash In Oil War With Russia
>> 
>> I don't see this as a motive in Obama's move towards regularizing relations with Cuba. 
>> 
>> It's true that the US is attempting to gain/retain economic control over Eurasia by provoking Russia - even to the point of war in Europe. 
>> 
>> But Cuba is not a military threat to the US - it's much more an ideological threat, the "threat of a good example.'
>> 
>> But I admit it's difficult to explain Obama's actions. Perhaps a bad conscience form the kids he's killed... 
>> 
>> --CGE
>> 
>> 
>> On Dec 18, 2014, at 7:08 AM, 'David Johnson' davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net [sf-core] <sf-core-noreply at yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> In conjunction with this development is the sudden announced ending of the embargo against Cuba.
>> 
>> It makes sense if you look at what it appears their new priorities are in regards to encircling Russia and destabilizing Putin. The U.S. elites don’t want a Russian ally so close to the U.S.
>> 
>>