I simply cannot get away from Yoani’s Sanchez’s denunciation of the U.S. embargo on Cuba and from the stranglehold a few citizens, largely from Dade County in Florida, have on American foreign policy. First, Yoani’s extraordinary courage haunts me, a soldier of 31 years who has witnessed some fairly incredible acts of courage. Second, the Cuban-Americans who have created this stranglehold fascinate me, for there seems on the surface no apparent reason for them to be clinging to a policy that should have died along with the Soviet Union.

I went back to this part of Yoani’s denunciation:

I believe that these economic restrictions − an “embargoâ€Â to some and a “blockadeâ€Â to others − represent a blunder in American policy toward Cuba. Far from suffocating the ruling class of the Island, these trade restrictions create material difficulties for the population and feed the radicalization of the ideological discourse inside Cuba. The embargo has been an argument to justify the unproductive and inefficient state-run economy, including the total ruin of various sectors. Worse than that, it has been used to support the maxim, “in a country under siege, dissent is treason,â€Â which contributes to the lack of freedoms for my fellow citizens. In its nearly 50 years, the “blockadeâ€Â has done nothing to limit the material arsenal of our authorities, not one of them has ceased to enjoy their privileges.

If we closely examine key parts of Yoani’s statement, we see that Yoani believes the embargo actually strengthens the hand of Cuba’s dictators and their rule. Moreover, the embargo severely constrains the Cuban economy, “including the total ruin of various sectors.â€Â It also punishes the largely innocent Cuban people. Finally, the embargo makes possible the perks that the elite who suppress the rest nonetheless enjoy.

Here, now, comes a glimmering of understanding with respect to the second half of my opening statement, i.e., my fascination with the tiny group of Americans who hold U.S. Cuba policy by the throat. Why do they do it?

The members of Congress among this tiny group do it to perpetuate the rule of the Castrosâ€â€and whatever dictator they hope replaces them. Only through such a continuation will they be able to keep the money flowing that powers their political campaigns because, for the most part, they are single-issue folks among their constituents and if the single issue dies, their political prospects do as well. Of course, they can appear to expand their issue baseâ€â€as one of the current candidates for the Senate in Florida, Marco Rubio, is doingâ€â€by jumping on the Rush Limbaugh/Joseph McCarthy bandwagon of the politics of fear. But most Americans are smart enough to see through such falsehoods. These folks are basically single-issue folks. In short, if the embargo were to go away these members of Congress know it would be only a matter of time before the dictatorship would go away and they do not want that to happen because it would mean that they too would go away.

If we consult the January 2010 report put out by the New America Foundation’s U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative, “Should Americans Be Free To Visit Cuba?â€Â, we find this prediction: “When the travel ban is lifted and large numbers of Americans arrive, the impact will be explosive.â€Â (Incidentally, Colin Powell said almost the exact same thing to me on several occasions.)

I agree and I believe that Yoani Sanchez would agree. I know the tiny group of hardcore elements does not agree. The reason is that in such an explosion its reign over U.S. Cuba policy would be destroyed.

As to the economy and keeping it constrained, I probably don’t need to say much there, as we all understand how the economics of sugar, nickel, and rum (ahhh, 17-year-old Havana Club!), and tobacco (think those lovely Havana cigars!), and other such crops and commodities work. Of course, there are some business people in the U.S. who want to lift the embargo because it would profit their particular line of business; on the other hand, there are those business people in the U.S. for whom Cuba might be a competitor, so they provide money to the coffers of the hardcore types in Congress as well. This is all very understandable. This is capitalism.

Punishing the Cuban people is a bit more difficult to decipher until we consider the general lack of concern on the part of the United States when it comes to Cuba. No one thinks of the Cuban people, is the truth of it. And certainly not the hardcore supporters of the U.S. embargo. What they want is power, plain and simple. The Cuban people are simply not a part of their calculations. Those of us who do, on occasion, think of the Cuban people are often too busy with other crises to let that thought prompt us to much action on their behalf. That’s very understandable as well because it is such a reflection of basic human nature. Therefore, the hardcore types most often have a clear field of action featuring no substantive opposition and, clearly and importantly, no real money to match theirs.

Finally, there is the case of the perks. Fidel, Raúl, Ricardo, et al, and their privilegesâ€â€not unlike the privileges of the elite in China, Vietnam, North Korea, or Burma. Or, for that matter, the royal family in Saudi Arabia, the Mubarak clan in Egypt or, if we want to admit the bald-faced truth, the Karzai brothers in Afghanistan.

Why on earth would maintaining these perks be an objective of the hardcore types in America?

Sorry, folks, I just don’t have an answer to that one. I simply put it in the box with all the rest of my “inexplicablesâ€Â when it comes to these hardcore, Joe McCarthy types. I suppose that they believe that such privileges are acceptable collateral damage.

I wonder how Yoani sees it?