US-Cuba Policy

After half a century of hostile relations, is it finally time to start talking-and trading-with Cuba again?

Cuba is not a high priority for the Obama administration, Erlich observes, but there is a considerable upside to taking action there.

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Under Raul Castro (left) , the Cuban government has instituted some reforms, but Erlich says many of them have little effect on the day-to-day lives of the Cuban working class.

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Cuba's socialized medical care is sometimes cited as one of the country's main successes. Erlich agrees...up to a point.

 Reese Erlich is the author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis and co-author of the best-selling Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You. He reports regularly for National Public Radio, Latino USA, Radio Deutche Welle, Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio, and  CBC radio in Canada. He also writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, St. Petersburg Times, and Dallas Morning News.