Opinion: A dialogue in Havana

Former President Jimmy Carter's historic trip to Cuba has provided both nations with a refreshing break from 43 years of chest-thumping animosity. Carter's plain talk about human rights abuses under dictator Fidel Castro was counterbalanced with his criticism of the failed U.S. trade embargo. Both hurt ordinary Cubans and the interests of the United States. The trip provided President Bush with an opening, though he doesn't yet sound interested in taking advantage of it. The president shouldn't allow backward voices in his administration to spoil this opportunity.

The image of a worldwide champion of human rights being feted by a lifelong tyrant was compelling. Carter knew his presence on Cuban soil would focus condemnation on Castro's record, and he was smart to avoid Castro's usual trap by leaving much of the criticism to dissident Cubans. There is no greater weapon against Castro than letting his human rights record speak for itself. Carter's meeting with leaders of Project Varela, a mass petition drive demanding the right to assemble, own property and free speech, undermined Castro's legitimacy among his own people.

The Bush administration made a clumsy effort to detract from the symbolism of Carter's trip. A senior State Department official said last week that Cuba had provided biological warfare research "to other rogue states," a claim Cuba denies. Now senior administration officials are backing off the claim. Bush is scheduled to amplify on his own Cuba policy Monday in Miami, and he reportedly will call for even tighter restrictions on trade and travel to the island. That may be what many Cuban emigres in South Florida want to hear, but kowtowing to hard-liners in the Cuban-American community hasn't helped democratize the island a bit in more than four decades.

It's easy to frame policy toward Cuba in black-and-white terms from the safe confines of Miami. But the people suffering in Cuba had their hope awakened Tuesday by the thoughtful approach Carter outlined in a nationally televised speech. He called for elections in Cuba, an end to the embargo and a free exchange of trade and travel between Cuba and the United States.

Carter said the United States, as the more powerful country, "should take the first step" to improve relations. He urged the two countries to resolve disputes over property Castro nationalized, and he called on Cuba to open its prisons to inspections by U.N. and human rights groups.

These measures are reasonable preconditions for moving forward. The United States has crafted mutually beneficial new relationships with Russia and other former Communist governments, and Washington has embraced several dictatorships in the war against terrorism. Yet our Cuba policy remains a glaring anomaly, with domestic politics compromising the nation's broader interests. Carter, with his last election long behind him, has the freedom to speak common sense. If only courage were contagious.

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright