The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

16 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL seems unwilling or unable to confront a well-organized anti-Cuba lobby and push for further progress.” He has not used his executive power since easing Cuban travel restrictions in January 2011. Meanwhile, USAID contractor Alan Gross languishes in a Cuban prison, where he has been detained since 2009. He was apprehended attempting to establish a communications network on the island without Cuban government knowledge or approval. Cuba will not release him without rst seeing a U.S. gesture—and the Obama administration insists Cuba must improve human rights and release Gross rst. In April, hardliners in the anti-Cuba lobby rushed to the USAID programs’ support. But by August, even hawks like John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations, had to admit that the failed projects were something of an embarrassment. Others inside and outside of the foreign a airs community are concerned that USAID’s reputation as a leader in human development and welfare could be sullied because of the Cuba situation. “It’s another example of the danger of trying to use foreign assistance as a weapon rather than to support the host government,” says Stephen Kaplitt, a former USAID legal department o cial who is now a consultant to Gilbert LLP, attorneys for the Gross family in pending litigation. “When they drift from their core mission, it substantially impairs trust and credibility.” n — Susan Brady Maitra Managing Editor