Writes: By Eugene Robinson

For nearly five decades, the United States has pursued a policy toward Cuba that could be described as incredibly stupid.

Raúl Castro is not going to transform Cuba into a free-market democracy. But he gives every indication of moving down the path that China’s leadership has taken, toward making his country a free-market, one-party autocracy. That’s not a perfect outcome, as shown by recent events in Tibet. But it’s impossible to deny that the Chinese people enjoy far greater personal freedom than they did, say, 20 years ago. Why wouldn’t Washington want to encourage Havana to become more like Beijing?

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