• Submitted by: manso
• United States
• Politics and Government
• 08 / 23 / 2010

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San Francisco Chronicle August 23, 2010 04:00 AM.Monday, August 23, 2010. The need to overhaul our draconian and counterproductive Cuba policy is so overdue that it is hard to get too excited over reports that the Obama administration plans to loosen the sanctions ever so slightly.

A half century of severe sanctions have succeeded mostly in keeping Cubans poor. The Obama administration is expected to take another step toward a more rational Cuba policy this week by loosening travel restrictions on academic, religious and cultural groups who want to engage in the type of "people-to-people" interactions  that were allowed under President Bill Clinton.

Early in his administration, President Obama had eased restrictions on the ability of Americans with family members in Cuba to travel and send remittances there.

Obama is headed in the right direction, even if the steps seem unduly tentative. A generational shift in attitudes among families of Cuban exiles in South Florida is easing the pressure for a punitive approach to Cuba. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has been trying to drum up support for a broader opening of relations, including a lifting of all travel restrictions.

Source: www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/22/ED2H1F0VS8.DTL