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GOP Slams Obama's Cuba Decision: 'Befriending Our Enemies'
Tuesday, April 14, 2015 08:23 PM
By: Todd Beamon
Republicans slammed President Barack Obama's decision Tuesday to remove Cuba from the State Department's list of terrorism sponsors, with Florida Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen accusing the White House of acting "only for political reasons and not in accordance with the law."
"Since President Obama came into power, his administration’s policy toward the Castro regime has been: ask, and you shall receive," said Ros-Lehtinen, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "But this unwise decision to remove Cuba from the list illustrates that the Obama administration is willing to concede to the demands of the Castro brothers in order to set up an embassy in Cuba.
"Removing Cuba from the terrorist list does not help the Cuban people, as they are still left oppressed and without even basic human rights while emboldening its oppressors," she said.
House Speaker John Boehner said he was "disappointed" by the decision, adding that Obama's "cozying up to the oppressive regime in Cuba is a blow to all who long for liberty and dignity.
"It’s just one more example of this administration focusing more on befriending our enemies than helping our allies," he said. "The United States has a responsibility to stand strong for all those who struggle for freedom, and the House of Representatives is committed to doing its part."
President Obama told Congress Tuesday that his decision came after a State Department review of Cuba's presence on the list. The review showed that the Cuban government "has not provided any support for international terrorism" over the last six months.
He also said that Cuba "has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future."
The move came three days after Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro met informally during a regional summit in Panama. The talks marked the first formal meeting between the leaders of their countries in more than a half-century.
Cuba was designated a state sponsor of terror in 1982 because of what the White House said was its efforts "to promote armed revolution by organizations that used terrorism."
The United States had long stopped actively accusing Cuba of supporting terrorism. When Obama and Castro announced new diplomatic efforts in December, the U.S. president said he was willing to remove Cuba from that list. Castro had demanded that Havana be removed.
The president held off on a final decision until several other issues — including restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Cuba — were resolved.
Removing Cuba from the terror list could pave the way for the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Havana and other steps. The countries still on the list are Iran, Sudan and Syria.
Republicans have long attacked Obama's forays toward Havana — with many citing the violent demonstrations with critics of the Cuban government in Panama City just days before last week's summit as continued evidence of the country's terrorist activities.
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