The United States and Cuba are separated by 90 miles of water and a half century of hostility.President Obama wants to bridge that divide.He's reopening diplomatic ties with Cuba and easing restrictions on travel and trade between the two countries.The move comes after more than a year and a half of secret negotiations brokered in part by Pope Francis.But as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, there is nothing secret about Obama's strategy.He's been telegraphing it since his first run for the White House.President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the diplomatic thaw with simultaneous speeches yesterday.Obama calls it the most significant change in Cuba policy in more than 50 years.e will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests,and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.Obama has argued for years that simply isolating enemies is counterproductive.As a candidate in 2007, he told a debate audience he'd be willing to meet unconditionally with leaders of Iran, North Korea and Cuba.The notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them,which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration, is ridiculous.Soon after taking office, Obama began pushing for a new beginning with Cuba.But any effort to reopen ties was frustrated by the arrest of Alan Gross ― a USAID contractor working in Cuba.Gross's release yesterday cleared the way for what Obama calls a new chapter in U.S.-Cuba relations.
