Time for US to lift Cuban embargo

At a conference call last week, Julia Sweig, an expert on Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic monthly, talked about their lengthy meeting in Havana with legendary Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Goldberg's article, titled Fidel: Cuban model doesn't work for us anymore, made headlines and also took a lot of heat after Castro said he was misinterpreted.

It might be worthwhile to find out whether the Cuban model works or not. But a much more critical issue is why the United States continues its 50-year embargo on Cuba, an embargo that hurt millions of Cubans and an embargo that has not worked for US leaders and its people.