CPUSA Offers Unrealistic Views On World Situations

The National Board of the Communist Party USA has offered some recent pronouncements about the illness of Fidel Castro in Cuba and of the situation in the MidEast. But neither offers a realistic progressive understanding of either issue.

After Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 he originally had a great deal of support from the American progressive community. After the overthrow of Cuban strongman Batista, Castro promised free elections in six months. That never happened. And a free press and political dissent was outlawed. And instead of seeking positive relations with the United States because of geographical and economics reality, Castro instead became sharply antiAmerican and began placing Soviet missiles in his country until a delinked agreement between the Soviets and the Kennedy Administration removed missiles from Cuba that threatened the U.S. and missiles in Turkey that threatened the Soviet Union. This seemed to be a legitimate concern of both nations not to face a border threat to their security.

But the latest statement from the CPUSA fails to recognize that the days of old time Stalinism have no place in this modern world. Modern Communist states like China and Vietnam seek good relations with both the world community and the United States. This brings trade and respect. In fact it could even be said that the Chinese Communists are the world's best capitalists.

Fidel Castro has chosen to economically isolate his small nation when seeking to foster a strong tourist trade and economic ties with the U.S. could have helped to solve many of the nation's goals of advancement. Cuban hospitals, schools and worker's wages would have been so greatly enhanced with positive trade with the U.S. similiar to that of China or Vietnam. The Castro vision of Socialism or Communism has been a near complete failure, and the economic isolation path that he him chose is to blame for this. Realisticly, you cannot have a small nation so close to a large economy like the U.S. and not act pragmaticly. Castro did not, so his people have suffered. Now only the passing of power to another may open the door enough to reform this society. But like North Korea, Castro has chosen the wrong path for his people.

The CPUSA also offered some unrealistic statements on the MidEast solely blaming Israel for all of the violence and aggression. This is nonsense. Both Hezbollah(The Army Of God) and Israel and other elements share a great deal of blame. After Israeli soldiers pulled their forces out of southern Lebanon, UN peacekeepers were so few in number and so powerless that both Iran and Syria trucked in as many as 10,000 missiles to the 2,000 or 3,000 Hezbollah militia fighters. It was only a matter of time before Hezbollah would commit an act of violence that was enough to provoke Israel to overreact the way that it has. The continued violence on both sides and the use of terrible weapons against civilians needs to be condemned. But the CPUSA statements on the MidEast crisis fail to comprehend any of this.

The CPUSA has proven why it is an irrelevant organization in this day and age. This organization acts as though it is still stuck in a 1950's Cold War time warp the likes of Joseph Stalin. Most Communists have realized that the world has changed and learned to adapt. Even in Russia, while the government of Vladimir Putin appears to be strongarmed and somewhat antidemocratic in nature, it still appears to be comprised of former Communists with a reformist view of the world. And the economy is showing some stronger signs with this reformist nature. The nation is hardly a democracy in the classic sense, but still makes some attempt at a responsible place in the world community despite it's background as a government top heavy with exCommunists who still have little clue how democracy or modern econmies work. But compared to the far worse days of the Cold War with unreconstructed Communists, at least the U.S. and world community finds this current political arrangement better. The CPUSA needs to grow up in this same world.