Monday 21 March 2016

Obama makes a historic Cuba visit as US tries to restore lost ground

A historic moment dawned American politics when President Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Cuba in 88 years after landing in Havana yesterday at the start of a two day state visit to the communist island. Although the two nations have often butted heads in the past, the diplomatic gesture of re-opening borders to one another does contain more of a strategic move than it does as a symbolism of peace between the nations.

It must be said that President Obama's foreign policy during his term in office has promoted restoring the image of the United States in the eyes of the most discontented nations who face the harshest sanctions imposed on them by the leader of the Free World, the balance of power in terms of world order has begun to shift away from the empire built on the American dream and into the hands of an ever-growing economic giant purported to overshadow that of the former with the sheer scale of its population.

China has gone on an extensive mission to win over the friendship of nations that have otherwise been left outside in the cold in recent decades in order to capture the necessary guarantees to access some of the world's largest reserves of mineral wealth in continents such as Africa. Chinese dealmakers have the added advantage of digging deep into their pockets to strike handsome payoffs after having accumulated vast amounts of wealth in a short period of time knowing very well that capital injection into undeveloped countries grants them a considerable leverage point to build good relations.

As these inroads have steadily accelerated with ambitious vigour, it hasn't gone unnoticed by the US who seemingly feels more and more threatened by an "Asian Invasion" in reference to its measure of political power in the global village. The United States relations with Africa and South America have been strained at the best of times however this latest trend has the potential to allow these continents a negotiating tool to acquire the best possible deal in wagering the benefits of one super power against the other.
Cuba is no exception when it comes to this competitive political power play when one thinks of the beneficial value that will be created from the trade embargo being dropped after 60 years in presence. The existence of these sanctions have for long been a political battleground for expressing the West's anti-communist views yet affirm that the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent demise of communism no longer pose a threat on world domination but rather the ascendency of a new imperium created from the very fabric capitalism subscribes to that deem these actions necessary to decelerate or put a halt on this influence of power.

Such drastic reversal in steadfast political thinking highlights a willingness by the US to evolve with an ever-changing political landscape if it wishes to remain in the upper echelon amongst the sphere of nations. I cannot envision seeing a departure from this standpoint as we've witnessed in the presidential election campaign's where certain candidates have stood out brazenly with their obscure ideals of how they'd operate foreign relations should they be elected to office.

If such ideals were implemented it would only open up further ground to be gained by the Chinese as refusal to accept new norms would certainly hurry away old enemies and possibly open old wounds.

The United States economic restoration of ties between Cuba provides the communist nation with a gateway of opportunities that could add more value to its economy than any other of its trade partners, an image that could bode well with other South American countries who currently don't hold a good view of the US but could be swayed into thinking there may be more to gain from future deals than American self-interest.

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