War Secretary Pete Hegseth Says Cuba Military Intervention “On The Table” | NewsRadio 740 KTRH

Cuba has long been a thorn in the side of the United States, mostly since the country decided to descend into communism in 1965. Though it began before that with Fidel Castro consolidating power along the way, from 1965 onward, Cuba has done nothing but cause issues for the United States. The Cuban missile crisis is the most obvious, but they have taken steps at every turn to work with U.S. enemies and try to inflict as much damage as possible.

The U.S. has tried once before to take action against Cuba. The U.S. and Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front tried an invasion of their own in 1961 in the Bay of Pigs. It ended in a catastrophic failure and resulted in stronger ties between Cuba and Russia. Which then led to the missile crisis just a year later in 1962. Since then, the United States has just had to “grin and bear it,” with no president willing to take such a risky action again.

That is, until President Trump. Since reassuming the White House, the President has toppled the regime in Venezuela. Currently, he is attempting to topple a clinically insane regime in Iran, albeit very slowly. The President has said before that when things are finished with Iran, Cuba is next on the list. War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed as much recently, telling reporters in Panama that U.S. military intervention in Cuba is “on the table.”

But amid a war with Iran that is growing unpopular, getting into another conflict is not necessarily a public relations home run. Chris Bray with the Federalist says a lot of this could be posturing from the U.S. side.

“At least I hope…he wants the Cubans to think they have to negotiate with the United States and come to the table…because the risk of not doing that is the risk of going to war,” he says.

If you are Cuba, you do not want war with the U.S. All you have to do is look at what the U.S. has done with Iran. For 47 years, their regime prepared for a bloodbath. Their military, supreme leader and navy were extinguished within a weeks’ time. Cuba does not have nearly the population, resources nor remotely the capabilities the U.S. does.

“A conventional American war against a conventional American military would take about ten minutes, it would be quick and it would be easy,” says Bray.

President Trump and the administration have said all along that in Iran, the goal is not regime change. But it has to be to a certain degree. You cannot just hit an extremist regime and expect to continue working in harmony. So, logic would carry that the goal in Cuba would also be a regime change.

That change could not come any sooner for both Cuba and the U.S. It would be a win-win situation for both. The U.S. would have access to Cuban oil and resources, and Cuba could make Havana an actual economic destination again. Instead of a collapsing ruin of a once civilized society.

There is a catch, however. The U.S. has done regime change through force before in Iraq. While 20 years later things are finally working out, it was anasty transition that costed a lot of lives, money, and manpower.

“The question is what comes after, what does it cost, and how likely is it to succeed?” Bray says. “Does nation building through military force work, and I think at this point, we have to say there are real questions about that.”

The U.S. has too much on its plate currently for any true intervention in Cuba. Especially with midterms approaching. But the idea is finally being kicked around for the first time in about six decades and if it happens, it could finally rid the U.S. of yet another piercing thorn in its side.