Principles Be Damned - Go For The Votes!

President Bush yesterday announced a new
effort to weaken communist dictator Fidel
Castro's stranglehold on Cuba, vowing to step up
enforcement of U.S. travel restrictions to the
country and to increase the number of Cuban
dissidents allowed into America.
In a Rose Garden event to commemorate the
day Cuba celebrates the 1868 start of its quest
for independence from Spain, the president said
free nations have urged Mr. Castro to move
toward democracy by holding "free and fair
elections" for the good of his people, all to no
avail.
"The dictator has responded with defiance and
contempt and a new round of brutal oppression
that outraged the world's conscience," Mr. Bush
told about 50 Cuban Americans. "Clearly, the
Castro regime will not change by its own choice.
But Cuba must change."
The president announced three initiatives
"intended to assist the Cuban people in their
struggle for freedom and to prepare the U.S.
government for the emergence of a free and
democratic Cuba," the White House said in a
statement.
The initiatives would:
•Curtail travel to Cuba by Americans by
increased enforcement and inspections of
travelers and shipments to and from the island.
•Increase the number of new migrants
admitted from Cuba "through a safe, legal, and
orderly process."
•Create a new Commission for Assistance to a
Free Cuba to help prepare the U.S. government to
provide effective assistance to a free Cuba.
The increased access to America comes after
Havana cracked down on dissidents, imprisoning
75 Castro opponents in April, some for as long as
28 years.
Cuban exile groups, an influential voting bloc
in Florida, have pushed Mr. Bush to take a more
aggressive line on Cuba. They welcomed his
moves to toughen policy on the communist-run
island, with some saying their pressure had paid
off.
"This is precisely what we have asked for, that
the laws should be implemented," said Ninoska
Perez, leader of a hard-line exile group called the
Cuban Liberty Council, which strongly opposes
any easing of U.S. trade and travel restrictions on
Cuba.
Cuban American National Foundation Chairman Jorge Mas Santos praised
the creation of the presidential commission. "We have high expectations," he
said.
The new commission will be spearheaded by Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, a
Cuban. The commission will develop a plan "to establish democracy and the
rule of law, create the core institutions of free enterprise, modernize
infrastructure and provide health, housing, and human services when Castro
is out of power," the White House said.
"The transition to freedom will present many challenges to the Cuban
people and to America, and we will be prepared," the president said.
Mr. Bush said he had asked the Treasury Department to begin
"strengthening enforcement of those travel restrictions to Cuba that are
already in place." Under U.S. law enacted in 1961 as part of a broad embargo
against the communist regime, Americans are not allowed to spend money in
Cuba unless they have special authorization from the Treasury Department.
The president said that exceptions to the law — which include allowing
visits to family, to deliver humanitarian aid or to conduct research — "are too
often used as a cover for illegal business travel and tourism, or to skirt the
restrictions on carrying cash into Cuba."
"We're cracking down on this deception. ... U.S. law forbids Americans to
travel to Cuba for pleasure. That law is on the books and it must be
enforced."
Using the new Department of Homeland Security, the president said there
would also be increased inspections of travelers and shipments to and from
Cuba.
The president also announced that the United States will increase the
number of Cuban immigrants it allows into the country, although the White
House offered no firm numbers.
Under a 1994 agreement with Havana, which was prompted by an exodus
of Cubans to South Florida, the United States began giving out about 20,000
visas in each fiscal year. Last year, however, the U.S. goal was not achieved.

"We are working to ensure that Cubans fleeing the dictatorship do not risk
their lives at sea. My administration is improving the method through which
we identify refugees, and redoubling our efforts to process Cubans who seek
to leave," Mr. Bush said.
"We will increase the number of new Cuban immigrants we welcome
every year. We are free to do so, and we will, for the good of those who
seek freedom. Our goal is to help more Cubans safely complete their journey
to a free land."
Mr. Bush also said his administration would make greater efforts to send
broadcasts into Cuba.
"We continue to break the information embargo that the Cuban
government has imposed on its people for a half a century," he said.
"Repressive governments fear the truth, and so we're increasing the amount
and expanding the distribution of printed material to Cuba, of Internet-based
information inside of Cuba, and of AM-FM and shortwave radios for Cubans.

"We know that the enemy of every tyrant is the truth," Mr. Bush said.
"We're determined to bring the truth to the people who suffer under Fidel
Castro." Tweet