Cuba and Hamas

Thanks to my brother for pointing out this Op-Ed piece in the NYT, comparing Hamas to Cuba in terms of international response. For well over 40 years, the U.S. has insisted that the best way to effect change in Cuba is to isolate it, a policy that has proved to be a failure. The question is whether isolation of Hamas would be any more effective. It is a difficult issue, given Hamas’ origins and past, because establishing some sort of relationship could seem like validation of its tactics.

But U.S. efforts at isolating Fidel Castro have tended to strengthen his position domestically, and to grant him martyr status. It also gives him something to blame when the economy turns sour. The same dynamic may end up being true for Hamas as well.

One thing the article does not note is the contradictory nature of U.S. policy, which asserts that isolation will change Cuba, but that engagement will change China, Vietnam, and other former enemies.