Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Definitely Not "Mesa Redonda"

I've been very busy lately, so I have decided to post links to these great round table discussions from the Council on Foreign Relations and the New Democrat Network(NDN).

On January 23, 2007, the Council on Foreign Relations held a round table discussion called: "Cuba After Castro - The Future of US/Cuba Relations." It was moderated by Julia Sweig, who spoke with Jo Ann Emerson, Republican Congresswoman from Missouri, and James P. McGovern, Democrat Congressman from Massachusetts.

On February 7, 2007, the New Democrat Network held a round table discussion called: "After Fidel: A New Day for America's Relations with Cuba and Latin America." It was moderated by Joe Garcia, Senior Vice President of NDN, who spoke with Democrat Congressman William Delahunt, Julia Sweig, from the Council on Foreign Relations, Janice O'Connell, staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sergio Bendixen, president of Bendixen and Associates, and Miriam Leiva, Cuban dissident in Cuba (by phone).

In the NDN discussion with Miriam Leiva, she brings up the possibility of an international effort to help Cuba. This is another argument against the US embargo, it states that the unilateral sanctions on Cuba has actually been an obstacle to finding a multilateral policy. Its a position that many European nations have been supporting for a long time.

"It would also enable friendly countries, such as the European Union members, to devise together with the United States more effective means to assist the Cuban people on the path to democracy."

- Miriam Leiva

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