The next President of the US SHOULD meet with Raul Castro- if he is elected President of Cuba

Blond Guy, I apologize I don't have time to post a well thought out argument, but I will try a quick response to some points. I am in the process of moving, but the next round I should have more time. "I gave you a reason why Obama shouldn't go. Because it would be a waste of time." -That's not a reason, that's an opinion. No diplomatic effort is ever viewed as a waste of time by diplomats, rather by cynics. You can be cynical, but cynicism has never done anything for this country. "What do you expect he will achieve in going to Cuba?" -There are a multitude of things that can be accomplished with a visit to Cuba. Have you ever visited Cuba? I work in healthcare, and so every year there are various conventions attended by biomedical engineers (one which I am scheduled to be a translator for a keynote speaker for this year), doctors, educators, etc. At these meetings every year hundreds if not thousands of issues are resolved wether they do it for us, or us for them. You never know until you have a diplomatic experience, which I doubt any 14 year old has (not attacking your age, just that you have not had that experience). "However, you chose to forget I said that and go giving false information to contradict some of what I said." -I ignored your cynical argument because it is not a valid argument. This is not 1959, this is not JFK, we are not in the middle of a Cold War with a Communist superpower, and this is not Fidel Castro. Your cynical argument is based on all those parameters which in this case do not apply. "The U.S. wanted Batista to stay in." -They did at first, but eventually relinquished support for him. They informed him he no longer had US support and should leave the island in order to prevent an uprising which the CIA was predicting. This is not the premise of my argument, and I will not continue discussing history with you. It is not that relevant to my premise. "What do you think, that America is this huge ruler of the world that whatever America decides everyone obeys?" -Yes. "It was clear that Castro was gonna be the leader and the U.S. had no choice but to recognize him as the leader." -Castro never expressed desire to rule Cuba, rather to replace a corrupt dictator with an elected President. He had no political ambitions, and was thrown into power by the vaccuum created with the abrupt departure of Batista and recognition by the US of Castro as the leader. "So once Batista was so obviously losing, they pretended to accept Fidel when they really didn't. Proof: Bay of Pigs invasion." -The US pretty much caused Batista to lose by imposing an arms embargo in 1958. In fact, the 26th of July columns (Castro's forces) were constantly supplied with ammunition, ordnance, and certain specialized communications equipment, by air and sea, from various locations in Florida and Louisiana. The bulk of the ordinary military stores were drawn from the armories of the Alabama National Guard, which served as the 'augmentation' for the para-military operations conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency in Latin America. Towards the final stages of the conflict, limited numbers of aircraft and armored vehicles were supplied to the insurgents directly from the U.S. Naval Station at Guantï¿½namo Bay, so that the handful of early, cast-hull M4A3 Shermans (equipped with the low-velocity 75mm gun) of the Cuban Army found themselves facing 'Easy Eights' (M4 Shermans with upgraded armor, high-velocity 76mm guns, and HVSS) 'issued' from U.S. Army National Guard and Reserve stores. "Fidel wanted to launch missiles at us knowing that Cuba would be annihilated if he did such." -Castro never threatened to launch missiles. The missiles did not belong to Cuba, and were not under the control of the Cuban millitary. The Soviets intended to use Cuba as a "mutual annihalation" deterrent just as the US used Alaska, South Korea, and European locations to threaten the USSR with the constant threat of nuclear attack. It was a legitimate act of sovereignty by Cuba to allow the Soviets (their allies) to place missiles on their land the same as US allies did, and still do today. "The only reason why Castro agreed to some preconditions set by JFK was because mommy (the Soviet Union) said so." -Castro agreed because his relationship with Kruschev was faltering. He did not wish to continue his relationship with Russia, but China was an effective diplomat between the two. Castro was seeking alternatives to this relatinship, and so agreed to meet with JFK before he was assassinated. "You can always play the "you're ignorant card", but just so you know I am Cuban, my grandfather is a professor in political science, previously ambassador of Cuba to Belgium and Japan, and previously an assistant to Fidel Castro." -If knowledge was hereditary then you'd have a point... however this debate is not between myself and your grandfather, otherwise I am sure he would have much more detailed insights as to the character of Raul Castro. Being a student of political science, the Cuban Revolution, revolutionary and Nationalist movements, insurgent groups and freedom fighters myself, I can better discuss the character of Fidel Castro's little brother. From your comments I can tell you have been indoctrinated, but you haven't read many (if any) books on the subject. I have read books even from anti-Castro sources who claim Raul would be much more open to negotiations with the US than his older brother. "At least I know where I'm getting my facts from and according to him, you are the one that has no idea of Cuban-American relations." -According to my grandfather you don't know what you're talking about either. Unfortunately the argument is moot if I have no basis, or detailed rebuttal to any of your points, right? "So I'll be looking forward to seeing what you expect to get from a meeting with Obama and one of the Castros." -It is not politically savvy to meet with the leader of another nation with expectations. The only expectation should be to listen to each other's concerns. That is a start, and that is the basis of diplomacy. Obama has stated he would set humanitarian preconditions- which if met are a clear sign of Raul Castro's openness to such a meeting. However, complete and utter refusal to meet with him under any condition is just ridiculous, and not the sign of good leadership.