It's time to try something new with Cuba

In response to Mr. Dale Plautz ("Appeasing Castro won't stop tyranny, Dec. 22), comparing President Obama to Neville Chamberlain is a stretch. Comparing Castro to Hitler is even a bigger stretch. The Batista that Castro overthrew in 1959 was a military dictator whose government was propped up by the Mafia. Before Soviet missiles were placed in Cuba, the CIA supported the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 by Cubans trained and equipped by the U.S. It was an operation that was planned before John F. Kennedy took office, and he was told that it was guaranteed to succeed.

It didn't. Kennedy did not put a naval blockade around Cuba - that would have been an act of war - he put a quarantine to stop any ships carrying missiles to Cuba.

While acknowledging that Castro is a dictator and has held power while we have had 10 presidents, the fact is that the embargo has not hurt the Cuban government, only its people. We have relations with former adversaries and enemies all over the world; look at China and Vietnam. Since the embargo hasn't worked in over 50 years, maybe trying trade and tourism will bring more freedom and economic opportunity to the Cuban people.

Michael Weiser

Wheeling