Dealing With Cuba, Castro

As a Republican and a pragmatist I was quite dismayed to read the column “A Case for Keeping the Squeeze on Castro” by Susan Kaufman Purcell (Op-Ed Page, Jan. 2). The premise that our posture should be to use the instrument of our accord with the Soviet Union in order to attempt to control Cuba, and to continue to deny Cuba our products is hardly reasonable in 1989. The author should be looking at what benefits the United States rather than seeking to punish an unruly child.

We must remember that, historically, it is the pragmatists who have taken the lead in replacing the antiquated ideologically based relations with other countries with policies which served the interest of our country. Foreign policy toward Latin America, to the extent that it has been grounded in pragmatism, has shown remarkably good results.

The article calls for a throwback of our foreign policy to the obsolete “containment of communism by punishment” days when Moscow controlled all of the Socialist countries. Moscow’s total domination of even the Eastern Bloc countries has gone the way of all empires.

President Nixon, a foreign policy pragmatist, opened and normalized relations with the People’s Republic of China. President Reagan, a foreign policy pragmatist, opened relations with the Soviet Union to an extent previously thought impossible. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s pragmatic government, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan and nearly all of the other countries in the world recognize and trade with Cuba.

President Castro’s overtures to the United States are not of recent vintage. He has continuously asked for friendly relations with the United States since Jan. 1, 1959.

We are wasting our productive resources, as the Cubans want to purchase our automobiles, medical supplies, building materials, foodstuffs, etc. Our manufacturers want expanded markets for their products. Our workers want the jobs producing those goods that Cuba would buy. Are we taking a sensible approach when we throw this trade to Germany, Japan, France, England, etc.?

The time has come for the United States to shake the hand of friendship which has been extended by President Castro and get on with making our country respected for what we do from wisdom, rather than laughed at for what we do from petulance.

JOEL D. LEIDNER

Los Angeles