KABOOM! US To Start Talks On Normalizing Relations with Cuba

++President Obama and Raul Castro are to address their respective countries at 12 noon. 

++Preliminary press reports say that the United States and Cuba will start talks about normalizing relations between countries and establishing embassies. 

++President Obama has the unilateral power to lift sanctions against Cuba, something Cuba has insisted has thwarted their development for decades.

++The United Nations and Western Europe have recently sided with Cuba that the US embargo needs to be lifted. 

++Cuba and the United States already have significant relationships on a host of issues. The Ebola situation in Africa has seen cooperation, the hurricane monitoring of the Caribbean and oil spills. 

++The OAS has invited Cuba to attend their summit, even though only "the nation" is a member, not the government.

++The backlash in the United States will be fierce and hopefully President Obama has his back covered. The fate of John F. Kennedy haunts us on this issue.

++So my nominee for worst year in Washington is Marco Rubio. Jeb Bush's pretend candidacy freezes him out of both the Presidential sweepstakes and vice presidential contention. And his flip-flop on immigration doesn't help. But a change in relations with Cuba is deadly.

++Personally, I think normalization can only occur when a Castro, let alone both are alive. It takes someone who has lived through the whole period of Cuban-American hostility to know what needs to be done and what bodies should remain buried.

++An unintended consequence of any opening in relations is the sound of tourists moving from the English-speaking Caribbean, Dominican Republic, and Haiti to Havana. When the Reagan Administration put out feelers for normalization--I should know I was one of the delegation--a consideration was the economic impact on the rest of the region. I hope plans are ready to assist the region.

++The United States will have to remove Cuba from the list of states who support terrorism. This is a political decision, not one based on fact. 

++I have a feeling that this bold move by Obama will be met with the same response as the Beau Bergdahl exchange for the Taliban held at Gitmo.

++While we're at it, why not close Gitmo by returning it to Cuba. The lease was up.