What happened to all those Cuba “Experts?”–Why they’re suddenly all Cuba “Analysts!”
Did Babalu's relentless ribbing finally get to them?
Who knows? But a definite trend is visible. To wit:
From the AP today:
"Previously the policy was just to get them out of the country, which really, really did work for the maintenance of the Castro government," said Ann Louise Bardach, a longtime Cuba analyst.
From same article:
"The dissidents are going to have the same criticisms as before, except that they're going to be allowed to travel where they couldn't before," said Philip Peters, a veteran Cuba analyst
From Reuters last week:
"It is potentially a serious blow, but it is unlikely that the entire relationship with Venezuela would end because the opposition has said it would continue to pay for Cuban medical personnel," Phil Peters, a Cuba analyst
From FoxNews Latino yesterday:
"What's important about it is people see this as a symbolic step of some importance more than a substantive one," said Geoff Thale, a Cuba analyst.
From GlobalPost last week:
“Kerry's instincts and experience in Latin America are to see past lingering and often toxic ideology in the US Congress and bureaucracy in favor of pragmatism and problem solving,” she (Julia Sweig) said. Regardless of Kerry’s record on Cuba policy in the Senate, analysts say he will face several obstacles to major change
Hummmmmm???????????????
Calling most of these people "analysts" is like calling janitors "maintenance engineers."
[...] We recently reported on the stunning reform underway regarding Cuba where the hidebound and traditional Cuba "Experts" were transitioning into Cuba "Analysts," and "Scholars". A reform, that it seemed to us, was genuine. [...]