President Obama met with Cuban leader Raul Castro on Saturday afternoon, in what Obama called a “historic meeting.”
"We are now in a position to move on a path toward the future,” Obama told the Cuban leader at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, according to pool reports.
"Over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries."
He noted one of the first tasks the two countries will have to undertake is opening embassies in their respective capitals.
Through an interpreter, Castro said he agrees with Obama on all points. He said the two leaders can disagree while remaining respectful.
"We are willing to discuss everything but we need to be patient, very patient,” Castro said. "We might disagree on something today on which we could agree tomorrow."
I never thought I'd see this day. Cuba and the Castros have been "The bad guys just off the coast of Florida" all my life. But change is coming. Slowly. But it's coming.
I was in High school when Fidel Castro marched on Havana and overthrew Batista. Havana was a favorite of the U.S.elite because they could go there and gamble and do other stuff that they couldn't do in the States. In the late 50s & early 60s I was on a US Navy destroyer and spent a lot of time in and out of Gitmo (before Gitmo became a dirty word. My last contact with Cuba was during the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The ship I was on was involved with the Bay of Pigs
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like story! Fire support? Intelligence? Logistics? Is there anything (that you can tell us) that is not in the common history books?
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