'There are real issues that need to be addressed between the U.S. and Cuba, including the continuing imprisonment of Alan Gross, a U.S. government subcontractor, and Cuba's human rights record. But there are sound political and economic reasons to support normalization. The world has changed radically since the nuclear-freighted tango between the United States and the Soviet Union ended more than 20 years ago. These days, the U.S.-Cuba rift puts us at odds with many of our hemispheric allies and perpetuates the image of the U.S. as an overbearing neighbor. Also, with the economic rise of the European Union, China and Brazil, it is in our national interest to remove a regional roadblock to economic cooperation.
'And then there's the human dimension. The embargo has inflicted suffering on the Cuban people for generations and yet has notably failed to achieve its goal of ousting the Castros. It's time to lift it.'
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