B

elieve it or not, like it or not, admit it or not, the revolutionary Cuban leader Fidel Castro has won a David vs. Goliath war against the superpower United States of America, which had made an all-out effort under 10 presidents to topple him since 1961.  

President Dwight D. Eisenhower cut off diplomatic ties with the tiny Caribbean state in January 1961. President Barack Obama, who was born seven months after Eisenhower'€™s policy was put in place, has put an end to the economic embargo and diplomatic isolation imposed on Cuba for the sake of the American nation itself.  

At some point, when the 87-year-old Castro, the old friend of Che Guevara, dies, he will be remembered as
the only person in the world who not only emerged as the undisputed victor of a prolonged confrontation with the US, but also the one who has lifted Cuba, despite his iron-fisted rule and the sufferings his people have had to endure, to international fame for achievements in education, health care, social welfare, sports, agriculture and
the sciences.

Many countries, including Indonesia, have benefitted from Cuba'€™s advanced but cost-effective technologies in the medical and farming sectors. Cuban doctors helped Indonesia after the tsunami hit Aceh in 2004 and a huge earthquake devastated Yogyakarta one year later.

Under Castro'€™s leadership, Cubans often suffered gross human rights violations and the list of his bad deeds is long. However, we have rarely heard reports that Castro abused his power to enrich himself or his family, as is commonly practiced by dictators the world over.

The Associated Press reported that Obama told the US Congress on Tuesday that Cuba'€™s government '€œhad not provided any support for international terrorism'€ over the last six months and has given '€œassurances that it would not support acts of international terrorism in the future.'€ Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro, Fidel'€™s younger brother, met in Panama recently and officially agreed to reopen diplomatic ties between the two countries. Removing Cuba from the list of terrorism-supporting states is one of the most important conditions to lifting the US economic embargo.

However, given the behavior of Republican legislators, it is very unlikely they will support Obama'€™s peace initiative because of their penchant for vetoing everything Obama'€™s does as the country'€™s chief executive.  

Whatever happens in Washington, Fidel Castro, who stepped down in 2008, will always be remembered as the only man who could beat Uncle Sam.