OMFG, they are just soooo f*ck'n desparate!! Now they're trying to coerce the EU and others to pressure Cuba to make a transition to *democracy*. I can hardly wait to see how this horseshit plays out.
<clips>
Lifting Embargo on Cuba "Still on the Table," U.S. Official Says
Washington -- The European Union and other members of the global community can play an important role in helping Cuba make a transition to democracy, says Thomas Shannon, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
In an August 17 video conference with an audience in the Czech Republic's capital of Prague, Shannon said the Europeans can make it clear to the Cuban regime that they will not tolerate increased repression once Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, reportedly suffering from serious health problems, is no longer capable of "being present as a political leader."
Shannon repeated the U.S. offer to consider lifting its trade embargo on Havana if the Cuban regime fulfills a number of requirements, such as releasing political prisoners; guaranteeing fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of speech and association; allowing the creation of organizations that are independent of the state, including trade unions, neighborhood associations, and political parties; and starting a "pathway" that leads to free and fair elections.
The assistant secretary said President Bush offered in a 2002 speech "to look at how the embargo could be lifted," but Castro rejected the offer.
"The offer is still on the table," Shannon emphasized. He said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, co-chairs of the U.S. Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba (CAFC), have noted that the United States wants to "find a way to engage with Cuba as it makes its transition to democracy. We want to find a way to be helpful as Cubans begin to build and develop a democratic state." (See related article.)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=August&x=200608181119581xeneerg8.555239e-02