Senator McCain on Cuba Negotiations

I first saw this interview with Senator John McCain posted on the "Uncommon Sense" blog. Check out this blog when you can, it provides updates on Cuban political prisoners, of whom we should demand immediate release from the Cuban government, even through negotiation.

In the McCain interview, conducted by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the US senator proposes a plan after Fidel Castro's death. He says:

"I think that that is the time that we offer a package of trade, of assistance, of economic development, of assistance in democratization—and tell them we will give them all of those things and in return we are asking them to embark on the path to democracy. Including setting a date for free and fair elections."[1]

This sounds reasonable, but asking for political prisoners to wait is not. Hopefully this proposal also includes commitment to direct bilateral negotiations, and equal concessions from both parties. These are key elements to a fair process of negotiations, which should take place now.

McCain has also shown interest in possible negotiations with Iran and Syria, as suggested by the recent report by the Iraq Study Group to ameliorate the situation in Iraq. In this case McCain states:

"On the issue of a regional conference with countries in the region, as long as we understand that the interests of Iran and Syria are not the same as ours... And if the price of negotiations with Iran is acquiescence to their nuclear weapons program, then that's not good enough. And if the price of negotiations with Syria is their control of Lebanon, we cannot accept that."[2]

Many against negotiations with Cuba believe that such a gesture of compromise is a sign of weakness or acquiescence. On the contrary, negotiations between parties, where conflict escalation is foreseen, should be a serious response to dire grievances that demand immediate remedy and allow equal concessions from all parties leading to future long-term stability.

There is no acquiescence in equal compromise.

[1]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_489826.html
[2]http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2006/12/mccain-cautions-about-negotiating-with.html