The Single Correct Lesson

The announcement establishing diplomatic relations is not the last word on the relationship between the United States and Cuba, but it is the first substantial step since the imposition of an economic embargo in 1960, before Obama was even born.

It remains to be seen if Obama has the will to come out from under the remaining shadow of the Cold War, which continues to influence the United States’ relationship with all the states of Central and South America. If he does, then he has drawn the single correct lesson in modern history since 1989. To be sure, in Cuba, the party and military still have the last word; the state of civil liberties is poor, and the economy depends on Venezuela.

But the Cuba of today is not the Cuba of yesterday. It is not the sponsor of terrorism nor is it, with Moscow’s blessing, the thorn in the side of the Western Hemisphere. In truth, the island is a bridge on which both Americas can meet, and finally, together, confront the real threats to world peace.