The Miami Herald's editorial board decided to refer to an invitation for Cuba to attend the next Summit of the Americas as inviting a skunk to the party. Of course, the stench of a skunk is that which the Herald's editorial board gives off. It is consistently anti-Cuba in almost every line it writes. It twists reality into its own desired form of fiction and chooses to ignore the obvious. What's interesting is the poll it has on the web page asking if Cuba should be invited to the next summit and 55% responded "yes". People can still think despite the Herald's stench.
"The failure of presidents attending the Summit of the Americas to issue a final declaration because they could not agree on whether to invite Cuba to the next meeting represents a disappointing breakdown of the consensus..." An interesting beginning to the opinion piece. The Herald makes it seem as if the people at the summit just couldn't come up with a unified statement about Cuba's possible future attendance. But what actually happened is that only the United States and Canada opposed Cuba's attendance. All others agreed that Cuba should be present, some going as far as saying this would be the last summit of its kind if Cuba were not to be invited to the next.
"This failure calls into question the very nature of the OAS. How can a coalition of countries ostensibly devoted to promoting and strengthening democracy invite Cuba to a meeting of like-minded countries?" What the Herald fails to remember, or cares to include, is that the OAS voted in 2009 to lift Cuba's suspension which began in 1962. Besides that fact, Cuba has repeatedly explained that it has no interest in re-joining the OAS. The Cuban government has stated that if invited, it would likely attend the Summit of the Americas. Is not democracy the expression of will of the majority? If so, then the U.S. and Canada, by refusing to accept the will of the participants, are showing their disdain for any "democratic" process which is not under their control. Yes, that is the mark of hypocrites, not supporters of democracy. But that scent of hypocrisy is masked by the skunkish stench that the Miami Herald exudes.
Since it is clear that the U.S. policy towards Cuba is one that lack in both credibility and support among the nations of the summit, Washington (and Canada) find themselves more isolated than ever before. The Herald pointed out correctly that the issue of decriminalization of drugs also became an issue that was difficult for Washington to handle at the summit. Of course the stench from the Herald permeated the way in which it described the issue. The Herald claims that the legalization of drugs was what certain participants were pushing. A different approach to the way the failed War on Drugs is a bit more accurate. Cuba recently stated that legalizing drugs would be irresponsible and the U.S. State Department also gave Cuba a lot of praise in it annual International Narcotics Strategy Report. Hey, why not have Washington allow an invitation for Cuba....it needs more allies on this issue!
"If nothing else, the Cartagena summit gave Washington an agenda for the next such meeting. It’s not scheduled to take place until 2015, but it’s not too early to start planning for it." The Herald smelled itself for so long that it finished its opinion with this line. The skunk of a news outlet doesn't realize that others have already began planning. They may not have another summit if they are ignored and Cuba isn't invited. Start planning Washington.
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