Bob Menendez: “I listened to my colleagues, and it is interesting, when we talk about Cuba, the word ``emotions'' always slips in; but…”

“I listened to my colleagues, and it is interesting, when we talk about Cuba, the word ``emotions'' always slips in; but I hear my colleagues come to this floor on other parts of the world, on questions of famine and human rights and AIDS, and they speak very passionately. We do not say it is an emotional issue. We also question China, and yet many people vote against China MFN because they believe China should be sanctioned in that regard, but they believe we should lift everything as it relates to Cuba. But forced abortion, arrest of dissidents, Tiananmen Square, a whole long list, it seems to me if that after 25 years of engagement is our human rights success in China, we should review that policy. Lastly, why, if lifting the embargo means the end of Castro, why is it his number one foreign policy objective? If it means his end, as everybody would suggest, why is it his number one foreign policy objective? The fact of the matter is that I would ask my colleagues who vigorously support human rights and democracy, who seek sanctions in other parts of the world, like the Sudan and other places, that they need to understand that if we vigorously enforce a sanctions regime wherever we seek to impose sanctions, then we have an opportunity to have a public policy success using peaceful diplomacy versus anything else.”