Even today, when the Obama administration has liberalized travel to Cuba - and failed to reverse that liberalization when Alan Gross was imprisoned - there are limits.
From Elliott Abrams
The accession to power in Pyongyang of Kim Jong Un, son of Kim Jong Il and grandson of Kim Il Sung, is a unique achievement in world politics.
There are examples of fraternal dictatorships, or one, anyway: the passing of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.
In the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo is the daughter of Diosdado Macapagal - but his term ended in 1965, and she was elected in 2001. Hardly a hand-off.
The attack on the British embassy in Tehran came just days after the Iranian 'parliament' voted to expel the British ambassador, and therefore reeks of official complicity.
Iran exports about 2.2 million barrels a day.
Palestine, as Icelanders see it, includes the Western Wall of the Second Temple, Judaism's holiest site.
There is no way around the contradictions and dangers inherent in Israel's decision to free over 1,000 prisoners in order to liberate Gilad Shalit.
The ransoming of captives has been practiced by Jews for many centuries and has been regarded as a greater obligation than charity for the poor.
The Fayyad cabinet may well be the best the Palestinians ever get. But whatever its good qualities, there is no democracy.
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