Cuba Confidential: How Wild were the Secret Negotiations
that Led to Revolution in our Relationship with Cuba? Let’s Just Say They
Involved the Pope and Artificial Insemination
This article outlines the journey
that ultimately led to the U.S. and Cuba restoring diplomatic relations,
focusing on the key negotiation points and people who played important roles in
the process. This a factual news article, if a little sensationalized. The
title comes off almost as “click-bait”.
The reader
will learn that the agreement was secretly in the works for many years, with
many different people and groups laboring toward the final outcome, and some of
the strange events that made it possible. Prisoner trades were essential, and
artificial insemination and the Pope did fact contribute. Overall the article
wants to leave the reader understanding this “historic achievement”.
As for the structure of the
article, it takes a while to get going and the lead is a little dull and weak.
The article seeks to illuminate, “what brought about this radical change”, however
lists the causes as, “a shift in public opinion, particularly among Cuban
Americans; a transition in Cuban leadership from Fidel to Raul, followed by
Cuba’s slow but steady evolution toward a market socialist economy; and Latin
American leaders no longer willing to accept Cuba’s exclusion from regional
affairs” and then goes on to not talk about these things at all.
The article
is definitely in favor of the cooperation between the U.S. and Cuba. It does a
good job of showing that many people wanted these changes, Obama included. It
doesn’t however list any opponents of the policy or possible downsides. This
makes the article a little biased because while all of the information is
factual, it is only telling one side of the story. Both authors, Peter Kornbluh
and William M. Leogrande, are concerned with U.S. politics and Latin America
affairs. They are certainly experts on the subject; however, this may have led to
some bias as well.
Works Cited
Kornbluh, Peter, and William M. Leogrande. "Cuba Confidential: How Wild were the Secret Negotiations that Led to Revolution in our Relationship with Cuba? Let’s Just Say They Involved the Pope and Artificial Insemination"
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