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WASHINGTON Theres an old Cold War joke pre-pantyhose that to defeat communism we should empty our B-52 bombers of nuclear weapons and instead drop nylons over the Soviet Union. Flood the Russians with the soft consumer culture of capitalism, seduce them with Western contact and commerce, love bomb them intofreedom.

We did win the Cold War, but differently. We contained, constrained, squeezed and eventually exhausted the Soviets into giving up. The dissidents inside subsequently told us how much they were sustained by our support for them and our implacable pressure on theiroppressors.

The logic behind President Barack

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WASHINGTON Theres an old Cold War joke pre-pantyhose that to defeat communism we should empty our B-52 bombers of nuclear weapons and instead drop nylons over the Soviet Union. Flood the Russians with the soft consumer culture of capitalism, seduce them with Western contact and commerce, love bomb them intofreedom.

We did win the Cold War, but differently. We contained, constrained, squeezed and eventually exhausted the Soviets into giving up. The dissidents inside subsequently told us how much they were sustained by our support for them and our implacable pressure on theiroppressors.

The logic behind President Barack Obamas Cuba normalization, assuming there is one, is the nylon strategy. We tried 50 years of containment and that didnt bring democracy. So lets try inundating them with American goods, visitors, culture, contact,commerce.

Its not a crazy argument. But it does have its weaknesses. Normalization has not advanced democracy in China or Vietnam. Indeed, it hasnt done so in Cuba. Except for the U.S., Cuba has had normal relations with the rest of the world for decades. Tourists, trade, investment from Canada, France, Britain, Spain, everywhere. An avalanche of nylons and not an inch of movement in Cuba towardfreedom.

In fact, one could argue that this influx of Western money has helped preserve the dictatorship, as just about all the financial transactions go through the government, which takes for itself before any trickle-down crumbs are allowed to reach the regime-indenturedmasses.

The rest is here:
Charles Krauthammer: Nylon strategy for Cuba a pure giveaway - Sat, 03 Jan 2015 PST