Bassackwards

I've always been puzzled about this. Name each country and match it with the foreign policy treatment given to it by the U.S.:

• Country A monitors, regulates, and oppresses its people completely. By combining slave labor, a huge military, and government management of all information, the regime is able to make selected people rich in order to enlist their assistance in keeping everyone unfree.
• Country B lets its people pretty much go about their business. By combining high standards for health and education with government ownership of all major enterprises, the regime is able to keep most people healthy and happy, although nobody outside of the government becomes wealthy.

• Policy 1 is complete opposition. Any form of business, travel, or interaction is criminalized, and the country is denounced repeatedly on the world stage as an oppressor.
• Policy 2 is complete partnership. American businesses are encouraged to invest and import, given huge tax advantages to make the American economy depend on the country. Human rights abuses and authoritarian policies go unmentioned.

Yes, you guessed it. We have a partnership with totalitarian China and enmity with the much less distasteful Cuba. Our political leaders, on both sides of the aisle, have priorities that are the reverse of what they should be.

And now comes a chance for someone in government to start the straightening-out process. Cuba wants to extradite suspected (indeed, likely) terrorist Luis Posada Carriles from the United States. The FBI says, "we know nuttink!" but his presence in Florida is well known. What politician or bureaucrat will have the moral sanity to stand up and say we should ship him out?

In a country where (as I said yesterday) innocent children are held on terrorism charges for no more reason than worshipping in the "wrong" faith—where we bomb one leader and leave others in power entirely based on their oil reserves but shouting publically that it's because of terrorism—it's time for someone in power to actually do something about an actual terrorist within our actual borders. Someone! Anyone! Bueller!