Pentagon removes Cuba from State Sponsors of Terror list
Without Tim Devaney, a reporter for The Hill who is either eagle-eyed or really well connected, we might have missed this jewel of an item.
On “Friday’s edition of the Federal Register,” he wrote, “contains new rules for defense acquisitions from Cuba. Following President Obama’s call to repair relations with Cuba and in the footsteps of other federal agencies, the Defense Department’s Defense Acquisition Regulations System is removing restrictions it had placed on purchasing military equipment from Cuba.”
It turns out that Cuba’s presence on the State Sponsors of Terror List affected its status under Pentagon procurement rules in two ways: It prohibited DOD from purchasing “Commercial Satellite Service Services” from Cuba, and it prohibited the Pentagon from awarding a contract to a firm owned or controlled by Cuba.
The new rule posted today (you can read it here) removes those two provisions. This action “only” took five months.
As a reminder, on December 17th, when President Obama announced his decision to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, he instructed Secretary Kerry to review Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terror.
Following a thorough review, Secretary Kerry recommended dropping Cuba from the list, and on April 14th, The White House submitted the report to Congress indicating the Administration’s intention to remove Cuba from the state sponsor’s list.
This produced one of the odder episodes in the Cuba policy drama. The Miami Herald reported that after signing up 35 cosponsors on draft legislation to reverse the President’s decision, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL–27) decided against introducing the bill using the novel claim [cue: Sad Trombone] that Congress lacked the authority to prevent the decision from becoming effective.
In other words, she lacked the votes.
Forty-five days later, during which that legislation was actually in order, the Congressional review period came to an end, and the State Department made it official; effective May 29th, Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terror was rescinded.
Just as Cuba’s false designation had permeated its way through a variety of government policies, producing a ton of real world problems, eliminating those policies once Cuba was removed from the State Sponsor’s list required attention by several U.S. government agencies.
DOD finished the legal work dropping Cuba from its procurement regulations in June. Whether the rule fell into a regulatory maze, or got lost in the White House clearance process, we don’t know.
Somehow, it took until Friday, October 30 (five months to the day Cuba came off the list on May 29th, which was also a Friday), for this rule to be issued.
In its own way, this is something worth celebrating.
First, this is a sign that the bureaucracy is still doing the hard but necessary work behind the scenes to implement President Obama’s policies, thoroughly and correctly.
Second, while Cuba may not currently be positioned to sell “Commercial Satellite Services” to the Defense Department, this does mean that, for example, the command at the Guantanamo Naval Station could begin buying goods and services from the Cuban government — rum, cigars, other supplies, you name it — starting today.
Third, beyond Tim Devaney and The Hill, this announcement — involving the national security of the United States and Cuba, after all — has not attracted, as of this writing, any attention; certainly not at the level of outrage caused by Beyonce’s visit to Cuba or the recent UN vote.
If quiet is the new normal when it comes to Cuba, give us more.
(From Cuba Central)
