Have you heard the joke about the Central Intelligence Agency? Its motto is “Overthrowing Fidel Castro since 1959.” This may be a joke, but as this excellent book shows, it is also true. This magisterial volume will become the new standard account of U.S.-Cuban relations.
The title comes from a quotation by Theodore Roosevelt, who set the precedent for U.S. policy toward the Republic of Cuba. As detailed here, the United States has never and “still cannot concede to Cubans the right of self-determination, while Cubans apparently consider this concession the essential first step toward accommodation” (p. 567). The policy may be misguided, but it has been consistent, from William Howard Taft’s “earnest effort to uplift these people” to George W. Bush’s determination to “go down and lift those people up” (p. 552). Unfortunately, as Lars Schoultz observes, “Washing-ton’s uplifting mentality” is “clearly delusional” (p. 557).
Problems began when U.S....
