China not enough:Bush readies new Castro measures

[directfiesta]

US is such a peacefull and freedom nazion *...lol

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2:27 am ADT) - For more than 40 years, the debate has persisted: Do tough sanctions against Cuba weaken Fidel Castro's government or entrench it?
President Bush's actions make clear where he stands. He believes loopholes in the embargo are serving as a lifeline for Castro.

At midnight Wednesday, new regulations take effect to sharply reduce Cuba-bound dollar flows from the United States, mostly by way of Cuban-Americans. Properly enforced, the measures could deprive the island of up to $150 million a year, according to administration estimates.

The measures are being imposed despite growing congressional disenchantment with the embargo. Lawmakers voted by comfortable margins last year to end restrictions on travel to Cuba. A threatened presidential veto killed it.

Proponents argued that U.S. tourism would plant democratic seeds in Cuba; the administration contends the chief effect would be an economic windfall for Castro.

The measures taking effect on Thursday appear aimed partly at the November elections. In 2000, Bush's 4-to-1 advantage over Al Gore among Cuban-Americans in Florida helped to carry the state in 2000, by a mere 537 votes, and to win the White House.

It is unclear whether Bush will retain that margin this year. To do so, he believes that a pugnacious policy toward Castro is his best bet. Like Bush, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., supports the embargo but, thus far, the president has shown more zeal for confronting Castro.

After Wednesday, U.S.-based pleasure boaters will no longer be granted Coast Guard licenses to enter Cuban waters. Since 1996, about 1,200 licenses have been issued, giving boaters unfettered access to Cuban ports.

To avoid problems with immigration authorities on their return, Cuban authorities routinely have provided a letter certifying that the Cuban government had covered all on-island costs. State Department officials see the certification as a sham, claiming that the visits have been a dollar-generating bonanza for the island.

Technically, U.S. travel to Cuba, even recreational visits, is legal. But the spending of dollars there is forbidden, family or professional visits excepted. Under the policy shift, the Treasury Department will approve no visit based on the assumption that the Cuban government will assume all costs.

Rules for family visits by Cuban-Americans also are changing. In theory, such visits have been limited to one a year but additional visits were routinely approved if a humanitarian need was cited.

Now family visits are restricted to one per three years, with no humanitarian exceptions. The authorized per diem for a family visit is being slashed to $50, compared with $164 now. A $1,200 annual ceiling on dollar transfers to family members in Cuba remains unchanged.

Shipments of humanitarian goods will still be permitted but officials say strict standards will be enforced. A Piper Cub filled with antibiotics will get a license with no hassle. There will be no license for a 24-seat Gulfstream jet for a purported "humanitarian mission" if its only declared cargo is three cases of aspirin.

No licenses will be approved for shipments of clothing or soaps and other hygienic items. Let Castro himself supply these goods, officials say.

Fewer visits to Cuba mean fewer dollars spent on visa and airport fees and plane fuel - and more economic pain for Castro. Or so officials think.

John Kavulich, who keeps American businesses informed on Cuba through his U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, says the new regulations could give Castro added rationales for the island's lagging economy. He also says Castro could respond by cutting back on U.S. food imports, legal since 2000, thus alienating U.S. farm state legislators.

Castro is worried that Bush, given his revulsion for Cuba's system, won't be content with mere tweaking of the embargo.

"Do not try crazy adventures such as surgical strikes," the Cuban leader warned Bush last week. "You would never be able to win that war." American officials say no such plan is contemplated.

http://www.adn.com/24hour/world/stor...-8875611c.html

BTW, is it because:

- They have WMD
- They have oil
- Bush wants to put his buddies ( regime change )
- They are harboring OSAMA BIN LADEN?


* no spelling mistake