A Uniform Foreign Policy

If it works in China, why not in our own backyard?

The recent House of Representatives vote to grant permanent normalized trade relations (PNTR) to China signaled a new strategy for dealing with foreign governments with ideologies opposed by the US. Rather than seeking to isolate, the US extended its hand to China and welcomed it into the global trade community. The majority of the House and the Clinton administration believe the United States is in a better position to influence China on human rights issues as a strong partner, and that this new trade pact will signal "the beginning of the end of communism" in China.

Since the House voted to grant China PNTR, newspapers from around the country are calling on the government to apply this policy of engagement to Cuba. These newspapers cite the current US Cuba policy as a 40-year old foreign policy failure. The Cuba embargo has only hurt the people of Cuba while leaving Fidel Castro entrenched in power. The papers urge the same legislators who lobbied their fellow representatives to pass the China bill to extend a hand to Cuba.

Here is a sample of the editorials and op-eds that have appeared in newspapers across the US recently asking Congress apply the China engagement policy closer to home.