Arrogance and Trading with Cuba

Ryan’s post is well-worth reading, and he nails a number of issues. The government’s Cuba policy is a true study in arrogance and tyranny.

Notice that it is the American state that determines who is our enemy and who is our “friend.” We as individuals have no choice in the matter. Cuba, of course, is no threat to us, and the “crime” with which this company is charged is providing software to help Cuba find oil in its territorial waters.

“Illegally exporting controlled U.S. technology is tantamount to a breech of our borders,” said Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. “We will work with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute anyone who threatens our national security by exporting sensitive technology contrary to U.S. Export Laws.”

The Denver office of the FBI also worked on this investigation.

“Those who believe they can sit behind a computer, commit a crime, and get away with it are wrong,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis.

So far, none of the investigating agencies, the U.S. Attorney’s office, ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) and the FBI has not been able to tell if Cuba has been able to use the technology purchased to actually drill for oil.

Now, since the government of the United States has made it a crime for U.S. oil companies to drill for oil offshore, it is tantamount to locking up reserves that could benefit consumers. However, if Cuba is able to find oil, that will have a positive effect for consumers on the world oil market.(I think that government is afraid that if Cuba actually strikes oil, it might try to turn into the Petrol Welfare State. Oh, sorry, Cuba might turn out to be like Alaska. Can’t have that.)

Few policies of this government have been more self-defeating and more tyrannical than the Cuban embargo. It is proof that government policies are self-perpetuating, even when they are absolutely irrational and downright evil. Cuba is an impoverished little country. Once upon a time, it had great promise, but Castro’s communism has managed to turn the country into an economic basket case that rivals Haiti.

The one thing that has propped up Castro’s dictatorship has been the U.S. Government’s campaign against it. Yes, the government wants us to fear this little country and to believe that only the Wise Policies of the Anointed have saved us from being conquered by this dastardly foe.

This position has made Castro a hero in Latin America and around the world. Yes, he is a pathetic fraud, a caricature of himself, and Cuba, once the jewel of the Caribbean, is a broken-down dump. That is what communism does, and the story of Cuba is the story of any place that holds onto that stupid economic philosophy.

But the American government has done more to legitimize Castro than anything else. And this action against a company engaged in peaceful trade that ultimately would benefit American consumers is more proof of the evil and insanity of the U.S. Government’s foreign policies.

Oh, by the way, speaking of “foreign policy experience,” the Cuba policy comes from the Beltway. So much for “experience.”

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7:01 am on September 6, 2008